Adjusted Time
by SRAM
Summary: Sheldon's life is devastated, he has lost his dreams of a Nobel and more importantly lost Amy. Sheldon cannot live in this world now, so he must change it, and he does.
1. Chapter 1

**ADJUSTED TIME**

**Chapter 1 - Devastation **

Dr Leonard Hofstadter stared at the preliminary paper on the internet, Dr Raymond Lewis had solved String Theory, it was amazing and horrible at the same time. Leonard knew Dr Sheldon Cooper was working on his paper solving String Theory and had planned to release it in two weeks, this would devastate him. Leonard slowly got up from his desk, thinking, he needed to get Raj and Howard, Sheldon would be so upset and he really didn't think he would be able to handle Sheldon himself. What made things worse, Sheldon broke up with Amy almost five years before, to concentrate and finish his work, and Leonard knew it had been hard on him. Amy was now engaged to someone else and if Sheldon found out he gave her up for nothing, Leonard didn't know how he would react, because Leonard believed he really still loved her.

When Leonard walked into Howard's office and found Howard, Raj and Alex staring at Howard's laptop, he didn't have to know what they were looking, their frowns said it all. "I'm glad I found you all together."

"Oh Leonard, this is going to devastate him." Dr Alex Jensen was almost in tears.

Raj just shook his head, "Alex is right Leonard. He put his life on hold for this."

Dr Howard Wolowitz summed it up and echoed Leonard's thoughts, "Leonard what are we going to do?"

A lot had happened over the last six years, everyone advanced in their careers, Leonard was Dean of the Physics department, Alex had gotten her PHD, a research job at Cal Tech and this year tenure. Raj had tenure and had discovered an earth type planet in a distant solar system, he was a astrophysics star. Howard gained more confidence after going to space the second time, completed his PHD and was now assistant Dean of the Engineering department. Sheldon, put everything he had into solving string theory and did it, but now it seemed it was two weeks late. Sheldon paid the highest price to his career, Amy, and Leonard knew, Sheldon always wondered if he made the right choice, it was the only thing that Leonard ever knew the man to doubt, that he had made the right choice.

There was another thing very bad about the whole situation, Dr Lewis should have not beat Sheldon to this discovery. Lewis came to Cal Tech a couple of years ago, one summer, to work with Sheldon, he was behind Sheldon in research and the trip caught him up with Sheldon, if he hadn't picked Sheldon's mind, he would still be years behind him. Leonard knew it wasn't fair, Sheldon was cheated, but there was nothing that could be done now, and Leonard wondered, how do you help someone who just had their life's goal stolen from him.

"We have to check on him, I really don't know what to say, but we can't just leave him alone." Sheldon was still his friend, even though he hadn't lived with him since he married Penny, five years ago. Alex, Raj and Howard nodded to him, then got up to follow him out the door.

The four of them walked in dread to Sheldon's office, not knowing their friends state of mind or what to say, it weighed heavily on them all. However, they were not prepared for the sight they saw when they got to his open door, Amy was standing in the middle of the office, looking around like she was lost. Leonard looked around the office quickly, actually relieved that Sheldon wasn't there and that Amy was, but that relief turned to worry. "Um, Hi Amy, where is Sheldon?"

"Leonard…..Hi…I don't know." She looked at the four of them confusion and a worried look on her face.

Amy and Sheldon broke up right after Leonard's wedding, it was after a long talk they had about their future. Sheldon cared a great deal about Amy, he even loved her, but Sheldon's life was scheduled like his days, so solving String Theory and getting a Nobel Prize where something that was suppose to happen before he settled down with a family. They both agreed that was something that wasn't going to happen in the near future and that if wasn't fair for Amy to wait, the relationship agreement was terminated that week. They did stay friends and both would attend group get togethers, but there was no more date nights or personal time. Amy eventually agreeing to dating a nice PHD at her job, a couple of years after they separated, finally getting engaged and was now soon to be married.

"Have you read…." Leonard looked into Amy's eyes and he didn't finish his question, he could tell she knew.

"Yes, I came right over here to talk to him. Leonard this is horrible, he devoted a major part of his life to this and was going to publish, then it was all taken away from him." Amy had been holding the emotion in since she found out, but Leonard, Howard, Raj and Alex where her friends and she needed them, so she just started crying.

Leonard also had a little tear in his eye, he closed the distance between them, taking Amy into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder. Howard, Raj and Alex moved closer, trying to say things to help the moment, and Alex rubbed Amy's back as she put her head on Amy's shoulder, tears in her eyes too. They all stood in Sheldon's office a good ten minutes before they were in control enough to ask questions.

"So he wasn't here when you got here, you never saw him?"

Amy shook his head. "No, it looks like he was just here, but no he was gone when I got here."

"His laptop is gone, so is his messenger bag, do you think he went home?" Howard was now looking around the office for clues.

"He didn't lock the door though, he always locks the door, when he leaves." Alex had worked for Sheldon for over a year, so she knew a lot about him.

"He was probably upset and just grabbed his stuff and ran." Amy looked at Leonard, "I'm worried about him, what if he does something and hurts himself."

Raj had been playing with his phone and now looked at the group. "He doesn't answer his phone, it just rings until it goes to voicemail."

Amy looked at Raj, then back at Leonard, "Leonard what are we going to do, we have to find him and help him."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - The Search Begins**

Leonard, looked helplessly at them all, he sometimes hated that his friends looked to him when there were big problems, especially when he felt just as useless as them right now. Penny had told him he was a natural leader, to his friends and the people he worked with, the alpha male of the group, but it was times like this were he just wanted to be a follower and let someone else make the decisions. However, there was one big difference, in is his life, he was now never alone, Penny was his wife. "I'm going to give Penny a call, maybe she has some ideas on how we can find him." His friends nodded.

Penny's life had changed drastically over the last six years, and she would swear for the better, because she was happy. Penny first completed her community college and got an Associates Degree in basic psychology, she didn't realize it at first but it changed everything. She now had a degree, she didn't feel like she was stupid anymore or that Leonard would dump her for someone smarter. She also realized that Leonard was always the one she wanted to be with and decided she needed to move on with her life, she proposed two months after her graduation. Then things changed quickly, they were married less than six months later, and shortly thereafter, Penny Hofstadter told her husband she wanted to go back to school. Leonard was very supportive, so she enrolled full time, working part time at the Cheesecake Factory, to pay tuition and for spending money, her husband taking care of their living expenses. Penny went to school in the summer too, she got her Bachelor of Science less than two years later, but that wasn't the best part, the second year she quit the Cheesecake Factory to take an internship with the Los Angles Police Department, as a intern profiler and negotiator assistant. Dr Yamato, the departments chief profiler, took her under his wing, so as soon as she graduated, she went to the police academy and became Detective Penny Hofstadter, very shortly after that. Penny had now, three years later, completed her Masters Degree and had just made sergeant, so she was a situation team leader, and she loved her job, she felt she was really doing something, Penny was happy.

Penny currently was in an unmarked squad car, going to a family dispute involving guns and children, the on scene commander requesting a negotiator, just in case, when she got Leonard's call. "Honey, make it quick, I'm on a call."

"Penny something really bad happened with Sheldon, we are really worried and don't know where he is. Amy is afraid he may do something."

Penny bit her lip, Leonard didn't exaggerate things when she was working, something bad must have happened. "Okay Sweetie, I will be at the scene in five minutes, to find out what is happening, I'll call you back as soon as I can."

"Thanks. Love you, please take care."

Penny smiled, touching her tiny baby bump that didn't show yet from under her work pants suits. "I promise Sweetie, I'll take care. Love you too."

Leonard took the phone from his ear, then pushed the end button, staring at it for a second. He always worried about Penny, ever since she took the job with the LAPD, then becoming an actual police officer worried him even more, but she loved it and he would never keep her away from something she loved. Her being pregnant now was a different story, two thirds of his family were in a police car right now going into danger and there was nothing he could do. Sometimes he wanted to beg her to quit, after he found she was pregnant, but he knew he never could, so he suffered in silence. But that was his problem and not the problem of his friends now looking at him, he put Penny and his baby out of his mind for now and started to concentrate on Sheldon again. "Penny is on call to a scene right now and doesn't know yet what is happening. She says she'll call up back shortly."

Raj, Howard and Alex all nodded, while Amy just gave Leonard a little look he didn't notice, because she saw the look he gave the phone and knew what he was going through. She knew that Penny had a baby inside her, her bestie come to talk to her at lunch a couple of days ago, and other then Leonard, she was the only other person to know. Penny and her got close over the years and Penny used Amy to talk to when she had concerns over Leonard, because right now she was concerned if she was doing the right thing. Penny knew Leonard was always afraid something would happen to her, but now with the baby he was terrified, and even though he never said a thing, Penny knew him well enough to see his pain. Amy and Penny had talked that day a lot about it and Amy had felt she helped her friend out with her concern, maybe even a plan for her future family together with Leonard.

Amy also knew she owed Penny a lot for when she used Penny to talk about Sheldon, after he broke up with her. Amy was devastated, and for the first real time in her life she wondered what was the point in living, she couldn't seem to work anymore and all her thoughts where about him. It was Leonard and Penny who took her in, made her live with them for a month and it was Penny that talked to her every day, until she could live again. She made herself a new life, found a wonderful guy she loved and was soon to be married, it was a dream come true for her and she was happy. However, Sheldon would hold a place in her heart forever, she would always love him, she could never go back to him not after he picked the Nobel Prize over her, but she still loved him, but not the same way as she loved her fiancé.

Amy pulled out her phone and text'd her love, it was part out of her love for him and part because of guilt. She always felt bad that she still loved Sheldon, even though she would never go back to him and it made her feel she was cheating on the most wonderful man that ever came into her life, the man she was marrying. She hit send then turned her attention back to her friends, now her mind clearer and ready to try find and if necessary calm Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper, from what was probably the worse day of his life.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon's friends would have all been surprised that Sheldon wasn't that far away, he was even in the same building they were currently standing. Sheldon was in the downstairs basement, in his room, not the room he had tricked Raj and Howard to believe he was using, but the real room, the room where his research was done and the machine built. Sheldon had planned out his deception cleverly over the last 10 years as he built his time machine. He had set it up for the guys to investigate and discover his secret room in the basement, so that when they found out about him being away at certain times and that he was up to something, they would find the decoy room and wonder what he was doing in it, which was really nothing. Sheldon's whole purpose in setting up the fake room, the one he played hakey-sack as a diversion, was that they didn't keep looking to discover his other room, with his work area and the time machine. Howard didn't even know that he had built a lot of the parts for the machine, over the years, Sheldon having deceived him by asking him to build random components he said were for different projects, only Sheldon knowing how they all went together. However, it was only after he solved string theory that he understood the last equations of dimensional shift, which would make time travel possible and would make his time machine work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 - The Theft**

Time travel itself was very convoluted, you couldn't just travel forward or back in time from your present time, that was impossible. Dr Hawking, Sheldon's hero and the only man he felt was an equal to him, had understood time travel completely right, you couldn't just go back in time, the physics of their universe would not allow it. Even if you could overcome that problem, there was another problem, that made time travel in this universe impractical, you had to know the exact time when the planet earth would be in the same place when you traveled, to the second, or you could end up in space or a few hundred feet above or in the ground when you arrived. So basically, if you could travel back, you had one point in a year where you could go back safely, a tiny window in that year where you could survive the event and that date was not of your choosing. If that wasn't a big enough problem, the calculations to find that exact second, were so complex it would take computers that didn't exist yet, so going back in time was impossible, like the great man said.

However, Dr Hawking didn't know that Sheldon had found another way to go back that didn't actually go back in their universe using their physics. Sheldon's String Theory research allowed him to prove the existence of alternate universes and that was the secret to time travel. For time travel to work the time traveler would have to jump, through a worm hole, to an alternate universe then come back, however when he came back he didn't have to enter our universe at the same point in time, he could come back at a different time because of the worm hole, thus either going back or forward in time. Sheldon had been interested and experimented in time travel all his life, he always knew String Theory was the answer, so since he solved String Theory he now knew how to manipulate time.

With all this new knowledge, Sheldon should have been happy, but he was just sitting down at his desk in his room, it seemed that all energy in his body was gone, he just felt old for his years. Sheldon had read Dr Lewis' paper and there was something in it that only he knew and Lewis didn't, it was obvious to Sheldon now that Lewis had stole part of his work to make his discovery. When Lewis had visited him years ago, Lewis was taking a wrong turn in his research and Sheldon mocked him when he wouldn't admit it and take Sheldon's advice to try another route. Sheldon gave him a hint on where he should look but didn't really tell him how to do it. Sheldon was letting the man do some of his own work, however when Lewis left back to his university, after that summer, some of Sheldon's papers were missing. Sheldon never thought about Lewis stealing them, but in the original papers there was an extended convoluted equation in the calculations that really was an extremely inefficient way of doing the particular calculation, that was mirrored in Lewis' work. Sheldon had did that particular calculation years ago while he was still dating Amy, she had been kidding around with him all day and he wasn't really thinking clearly, he couldn't keep his mind on his work, only the beautiful vixen who was all smiles and giggles. So Sheldon did the calculation in the worst way possible, his mind only half on it and because it always reminded him of Amy, he had delayed simplifying it until recently. As Sheldon read Lewis' paper he saw the same inefficient equation, it stood out like a sore thumb, no scientist would have done it this way, it was Sheldon's Amy equation and Lewis stole it. Lewis had obliviously caught himself up to Sheldon that summer then stole some of his work, the problem was Sheldon had no way to prove it. This was nothing like what happened to him with Leonard, Raj and Howard at the North Pole, they kept his original data for him to publish, he made the mistake of telling everyone he found the answer before he ran his results and proved it. He thought about that a lot and realized it was unethical of him to do that, he had let his pride override the scientist in him. The guys saved his job and toned down the ridicule of him, when they told Gablehauser what they did, so the university wouldn't fire him. That whole thing cost them all from being considered for tenure for the next three years. But no, it was nothing like what Lewis did, he stole another scientist's work and that was done with malice. It was actually a crime against science, there was suppose to be honor among scientists to share data, he cheated and took away what was Sheldon's, Lewis was a bad person and Sheldon wanted him to pay for his deed.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny got to the scene to find everything under control, the angry wife surrendered the gun to the police instead of shooting her cheating husband, so they didn't need Penny. She quickly cleared from the call then got her cell phone out, hitting one on the speed dial. "Hey Sweetie, now what is wrong with Sheldon?"

The five of them were now in Leonard's office putting together a plan to find and help Sheldon, when Leonard's phone rang. Leonard quickly picked up the phone when he saw it was Penny. "Hey you, something really bad happen to him today, I mean really bad. You know how he has devoted his life to solving String Theory?"

"Oh God Yes. Being around him all these years, I probably know as much about String Theory as a Physics undergraduate, maybe more."

"Well he solved it, and has been working on his paper and support data for the last month, he was going to release his preliminary work in two weeks."

"That sounds great, why would that be a problem…wait you said he was going to release, what happened?"

"A Dr Lewis from MIT released his preliminary work today, solving String Theory."

"Oh no, that makes Sheldon's work useless, right?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up. He could still present his work, but it would just be for review and verification, Lewis will be the man who solved String Theory."

"He must be devastated Leonard, he devoted his life to that work." Penny then got quiet, "He gave up Amy for his work."

Leonard looked over at Amy. "I know, she is here now, trying to help." At the mention of her name, Amy looked back at him and gave him a small sad smile.

"Have you guys talked to him already?"

"No that is the problem, Honey, Sheldon is missing."

Penny stopped talking for a minute, thinking of the implications of what Leonard just told her. "Sweetie, I can't put out a missing persons on him for 24 hours. Have you checked all the places he normally goes to hide?"

"No, that was the next thing we were going to do. It is just everyone is a little upset and I thought you might have a good idea or something."

Penny nodded in the car, before she realized Leonard couldn't see her, "I understand Honey, I'll keep thinking of things and see you when I get home. You guys check out his usual hide-aways and see if he turns up. As a matter of fact, the Cheesecake Factory is on my way, so I'll make a quick stop there and if I find him, I will give you a call."

"Thanks, Honey, be careful, Love you."

"Love you too Sweetie….Leonard, I promise I will be careful, I know how much this means to you and me. I won't screw up, so you just be careful too, okay."

"Okay, see you later."

"Later" Penny hung up. She took a breath and sighed, he always worried about her, but it had seemed to reach a point they could both live until now. The baby coming changed everything, she could now see his worries returning even stronger, and as much as it sometimes bothered her, she really couldn't be mad at him, he adored her and she was crazy in love with him. The longer they had been married, the more they needed each other, and the less she was able to get or stay upset with him, he was really a wonderful husband. It actually made her feel special that he worried about her and the baby, so much. She hadn't told him yet, but after her talk with Amy, she decided she was going to take a desk job, in another month or two, when she was showing, she was going to do it for him, no for all of them. Having their baby, had become the most important thing in her life now, and it sent a quiver of delight through her as she realized they were going to be a family in the not too distance future, it was just a matter of time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Feelings**

Sheldon looked at all the equipment in the room, the computers and the field generators, to anyone else it looked just a bunch of stuff electrically wired together, but Sheldon knew what it could really do. He had testing it for six months, sending recorders and automatic cameras into the very distance past, he was the only man on earth that had seen a real dinosaur, he had it on video. However, once he was able to successfully send things back and forth through time, the real work began, he needed to determine how to accurately determine exact points in time to go to, he needed to calibrate everything so he could control where he ended up. The thought of ending up in the middle of a pack of Velocity Raptors, still brought chills to his body, reminding him how important it was to be able to control what time the traveler would end up in. That's what took up the last six months, sending cameras, to look at the sky, at different settings so he could tell by star constellations what the date was compared to the machine settings, and it eventually worked, he could now send someone back to within a couple weeks of the date he wanted.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny entered the Cheesecake Factory, it had been almost a year since her and Leonard or the gang had eaten there, yet everything seemed the same. She didn't really know anyone there now, it was that kind of job, and that is why she hated it after a few years, she had been one of the oldest employees there, when she left. She quickly looked around, not seeing Sheldon, and was about to walk out until she heard someone call her name. "Penny?"

Penny turned to see who it was, and she was pleasantly surprised to see her old friend, but sad to see her still in a waitress uniform. "Cheryl, how have you been girl?"

Cheryl took Penny into a hug, which Penny returned, her and Cheryl had a lot of history together, and it made Penny give her a little squeeze. "Sweetie, it has been a long time."

Cheryl nodded, "Yeah, it has. So how is married life and being a cop?"

Penny smiled, "I love being married, but that is probably because I married Leonard, he still makes me feel special, and I can see in his eyes everyday how much he loves me."

Cheryl nodded, "Good for you girl, you deserved it."

Penny got serious, "I don't think I deserved him, if the world had been fair, I would have lost him, I hurt him to many times and even hurt myself. But I got a real break, Leonard loved me so much he wouldn't give up on me, I was really lucky. I know now, that we were made to be together, we both wouldn't have been really happy with anyone else, but back years ago, I couldn't see my soul mate, even though he was standing right in front of me."

Cheryl smiled. "I'm happy for you Penny."

Penny looked at her friend. "Cheryl are you still with Ryan?"

Cheryl shook her head, "No, we broke up last year, he found some one younger, I'm 33 now and don't look like I use to."

Penny saw the sad look on Cheryl's face, so she took her into another hug. "Cheryl you look great, you don't look your age at all, as a matter of fact I know a certain Astrophysicist who always liked you, since you slept with him years ago after my Halloween party."

Cheryl stood back and looked at Penny, "His name was Raj, right?"

Penny smiled and nodded, "You still remember him?" Penny saw her friend blush and it immediately dawned on her Cheryl had liked him back then. "He is still single, he can talk to women now and he is still cute."

Cheryl looked at her, "Then why is he single?"

"He is still shy and he had a bad marriage for a couple of years. His parents arranged a marriage for him and as soon as the girl got to America, she started to spend all his money and fool around, he caught her cheating and that ended it. It was so bad, his parents were telling him to divorce her."

"Oh poor Raj."

Penny could see Cheryl was actually being sincere in her sympathy for Raj, which made the matchmaker in Penny come out after years of being buried. "Cheryl why don't you give me your number and we'll have you to dinner when he is there. No pressure, just one of Leonard's friends and one of mine. We'll even invite Howard and Bernadette, you remember Bernadette."

Cheryl smiled, "I remember her, she was nice. I would like that Penny." Cheryl gave Penny her number and they hugged again before Penny left.

The ride home, Penny was deep in thought, Sheldon and Raj both on her mind, they both had a hard time with relationships. Raj never finding a girl that loved him for himself and Sheldon giving up his one true love, Amy. Then there was the Nobel Prize he thought he was going to get, he was so close, this was probably driving him crazy right now. He needed Amy, she had tried to tell him that years ago, when he could have still won her back, but he couldn't admit he was wrong, that man was more stubborn than her dad's old mule. She tried to tell him and show him how once she married Leonard, everything fell into place for her, being able to have your love always there put everything into perspective, and really did make things easier, but he just wouldn't listen, it made Penny shake her head as she drove.

Penny pulled into the driveway of their house, seeing both Leonard's and Howard's cars sitting there, as she parked her unmarked police car behind them. It was only a minute later, as she walked into the house and kissed Leonard, she noticed that Bernadette was with Howard in the kitchen drinking fresh coffee and talking. "I hate you guys." Penny teased.

Bernadette smiled, "Hey, I didn't see you stop drinking coffee around me when I was pregnant."

"Yeah, but I didn't know what torture it really was." Penny sighed.

Leonard handed Penny a cup, "Here I made some Swiss water processed organic decaf coffee for you. The research I read says it is safe for pregnant women and their babies."

Penny sniffed the steaming liquid and savored a sip, it was wonderful. "Honey, I love you so much right now." She leaned over and gave him a long kiss.

"You guys really need a room." Bernadette teased.

Penny pulled back smiling then gave Leonard a wink, whispering, "Later Baby." Then turned to her friends becoming serious again. "So no luck finding Sheldon?"

Howard, Bernadette and Leonard all shook their heads. Leonard caught her up, "I went to the apartment, he wasn't there and I don't think he was there since he went to work. Howard picked up Bernadette and then they went to the comic book store, train store and even the bowling alley, but no Sheldon."

"How about the places he eats?" Penny figured Leonard had them covered, but she had to ask, the cop in her now coming out.

"Raj and Alex are checking those all out now. Also, I called his mother and sister, they haven't heard a thing. I really hated to do that because now they are worried too."

"What about Amy." Penny knew Amy would worry about him, she still really cared for him, probably still loved him, but she was also in love with another man, now, a man she could see a future with.

"She is staying at home alone, so if he comes by there they can talk. Her fiancé is really a great guy, he told her he understands and to take all the time she needs."

Penny nodded, "Yeah she deserves him, I want to slap Sheldon upside the head every time I think about him letting her go."

"He really loves her, you know that Honey." Leonard said quietly.

Penny nodded, "I know, why he wouldn't listen, I will never know."

"He's Sheldon." Bernadette added. Everybody nodded, it really explained it all.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy was sitting on her couch in her apartment alone, just as Leonard had said, only one light on, deep in thought. Her feelings were all over the place right now and it scared her, really scared her, because she was having doubts. Everything had seemed fine until today, she found a man she loved, they were getting married, her life was planned and she was happy. Now Sheldon was missing and she was afraid for him, really afraid, she didn't know what she would do if something happened to him, the thought of him not being around anymore was almost too much to bare, because Amy still loved him. All her plans were falling down in front of her mind's eye, she didn't just love Sheldon, SHE LOVED HIM, and she was now just realizing she had been fooling herself all the time. Amy promised herself if he came out of this okay, she would slap him, then tell him she still loved him and wanted to be with him.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon completed his inventory, he had planned for something like this, so he had a two weeks supply of food and water, a portable toilet, shower, cot and clean clothes. He had a lot of work to do, but he felt two weeks would be plenty of time and the thought that he could just work and sleep when he needed it, comforted him a little. However just a little, the anger in his stomach was still there and he felt it would never go away until his plan was complete and Lewis was punished. So he powered up his computer and started his research on the Lewis family, Sheldon had decided to end his problem at the source, he decided to make sure Raymond Lewis was never born.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Days of Nothing**

The next day, almost 24 hours exactly to the minute after the gang had found Sheldon missing from his office, Penny filed a missing persons report. Penny also called in a few favors, having friends in patrol and detectives in missing persons, put a little extra work in looking for Sheldon. It was all she could do, and at the end of the day she just fell into her couch at home, drained and extremely tired, worry and the extra work she put in looking for Sheldon draining all the energy out of her. Thankfully, Leonard arrived only fifteen minutes later, from his efforts to find Sheldon, taking a seat next to her, so she could lean on him for comfort.

"I went to the train and comic stores, out of town, the ones he had made me or the guys take him to before. No one has seen him." Leonard told her. He had taken the day off and traveled around outside the Pasadena area on the off chance Sheldon went someplace farther away.

"I went to the train station at lunch time and went around showing his picture. No luck there either." Penny sighed.

Leonard nodded, "Penny, Amy is taking it hard. When I saw her today and we talked a little, she was really bad and I'm worried about her."

"Sweetie of course she would take it hard, they were close for so long." Penny looked at Leonard then saw the expression on his face, which made her ask quietly. "Leonard how bad is she?" 

"Penny she is a mess, she is acting like she just lost the love of her life or how a wife would act if she lost her husband." Leonard explained.

"Oh my God. She is still in love with him, isn't she. She never got over him." Penny stared at Leonard wide eyed.

Leonard shook his head slowly. "I don't really know, you are better at reading people than I am, but she is not acting like someone who is engaged to another man. She seems lost and helpless, it reminds me of how she was when they were together and she worried about him."

Penny sighed, "Why Honey, why now? She is just what he needs right now, why can't they be together." Serious and tough Detective Penny Hofstadter then just let her pregnancy hormones take over and began to cry on Leonard's shoulder as he gently rubbed her back.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy sat in her apartment, with no one to comfort her that night, as she also cried over Sheldon. Her fiancé would come by, in a heartbeat, if she asked him, but she couldn't help the feeling she was cheating on him and didn't deserve him. She also knew she was going to have to tell him how she still felt towards Sheldon, but she couldn't right now, with everything that was happening, it was too much for her, so she dragged herself up and went into the shower to get ready for bed. She didn't want to think anymore and the only way she knew how to do that was sleep, mind numbing sleep.

The shower didn't even help her, as her mind recounted her day, in her continuing search for Sheldon. Leonard and her had both taken off that day and met in the morning to come up with a plan for searching. Leonard made the long drives to places Sheldon liked outside of Pasadena, stores in and outside the county, Sheldon had gone to before because he liked them. Amy had gone to all the local colleges and asked if anyone had seen him, then to the museums to see if he somehow went to any of those. Neither of them had any luck that day and when they met later the depression she felt was almost overwhelming. She was so bad, Leonard had taken her into his arms to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, even though she could hear the doubt in his words.

She knew tomorrow was another day and they still a few places to check, parks and the zoo, but after tomorrow they were lost on what to do next, if they didn't find him. It was that thought that kept Amy tossing and turning in her bed, the thought that she didn't know what to do if they didn't find him tomorrow. Amy had never imagined Sheldon not being there and she knew if he had did something to himself, she would just die. That night Amy cried herself to sleep.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon had been discovered missing on a Tuesday, so by Friday, everyone of their group had searched everywhere and the police had looked for him, but there was no sign of Sheldon, it was like he disappeared from the face of the earth. All his friends tried to be positive, but they all feared the worse and that Friday evening, as they found themselves sitting at a table at the CheeseCake Factory, they quietly stared at their menus, none of them knowing what to say. Amy was the worse and her friends would sneak looks at her, desperately trying to think of something to say to cheer her up, but coming up empty each time. What made things worse was they all knew Amy had talked to her fiancé and now her wedding was postpone indefinitely, which Penny, Bernadette and Alex knew was because Amy was still in love with Sheldon and wouldn't be able to move along with her life until she could get closure from all they were going through right now.

Cheryl came to the table to take orders, she had asked the waitress who normally worked that table to let her do it, as soon as she saw Penny, Leonard and of course Raj. However as she approached the table she could see all the sad expressions on everyone's faces and it made her wonder what had happened to make everyone so upset. "Hi, are you guys ready to order."

Penny looked up and gave Cheryl a sad smile, "Hi Cheryl, can you give us a few more minutes, I don't think everyone has decided yet." A couple people, of the group, nodded at Penny's statement.

Cheryl was about to turn and leave, but took a quick glance at Raj, stunned that he was looking directly at her too. "Hi Raj." she barely got out.

A small sincere smile formed on Raj's lips, "Hi Cheryl, how have you been."

Cheryl now smiled back at him and stepped closer to his seat, "I've been doing okay, I guess. You know, just working and all." Penny was right Raj was still cute and suddenly she felt nervous.

Raj couldn't help but look at Cheryl's eyes and it made him remember that night with her years ago, he had liked her then and looking at her now, he knew he still liked her. He wished he could talk to her, but not at the table, it wouldn't be right, especially the way Amy was. "I know what you mean, I have been working and all too."

Cheryl nodded, her smile a little bigger, "Okay, I'll come back in a few minutes to see if you are ready to order." She turned and walked away, only to quickly look back at Raj, slightly gasping when she saw he was still looking at her, the small smile still on his lips.

Raj saw the smile Cheryl gave him before she turned around and went back to another part of the restaurant, and he sighed as he turned back to the menu in front of him. Penny had also noticed what just happened and knew Cheryl had come to their table just to see them and Raj, because this table was not in her section and the girl that waited this section was at another close table taking orders. Cheryl must have asked to serve them, Penny knew, because she had done the same thing, years ago, whenever the guys came in.

Penny leaned over to Raj, who was sitting next to her, and noticed he almost jumped when began to whisper to him, "She likes you, you know." Raj just stared at Penny in disbelief, words failing him at that moment.

"Raj she likes you, and I think you like her. Why don't you talk to her, ask her out, she'll say yes." Penny said softly to him. Her sitting right next to him, made it so she could talk to him without anyone hearing.

Raj looked at Penny, then slowly nodded, he had been alone since his divorce and he did like Cheryl. "Okay." Raj whispered back, then stood up.

"Raj where are you going?" Howard asked, as he noticed Raj stand up with purpose.

Raj stared at him for a moment, "The bathroom." then quickly turned and walked away.

Cheryl was at the register, running a customers bill, when she felt someone behind her, who smelled really good. She turned and barely was able to keep standing, her knees suddenly feeling incredibly weak. "Raj?"

Raj just nodded, "Cheryl would you go out with me? Not tonight of course but in a couple days, when you have an evening free." Raj then relaxed, he had asked her, now he waited to see if Penny was telling him the truth.

Cheryl, stared at him trying to process what just happened and slowly it sunk in, he had asked her out. Cheryl nodded slowly, "Yes." She then gave Raj her number and told him she was off tomorrow night, and asked him if that was too soon. Raj just smiled and agreed tomorrow was great and he would call her tomorrow early to make arrangements. Cheryl watched Raj walk back to his friends, and knew if she wasn't in a restaurant full of people she would be doing a happy dance right now.

Raj sat back at the table and gave Penny a little nod, which made Penny smile a little. It a week of pure heartache and disappointment over Sheldon, a little happiness for her two friends helped some. Penny just wished there was something she could do for Amy and as she looked at her, she leaned over to whisper in Leonard's ear, "Honey switch seats with me."

Penny quickly got in Leonard's seat next to Amy, before she even knew what was happening, then leaned over to her and whispered, "How are you doing Bestie?"

Amy looked at Penny, blinking a couple of times as she stared at her friend. "Penny what are we going to do?"

Penny sighed, "Well we are not going to give up on him, not till we find him. He is someplace Amy, he can't just leave the planet can he?"

Amy nodded, "You're right he has to be around here someplace, he can't completely disappear."

"That's right Sweetie, we will find him." Penny then gave Amy a little smile which Amy returned. "So how about it, hungry?"

Amy nodded, "I guess I can eat. Thank you Penny."

"Hey, that's what Besties are for." Penny and Amy were now able to start looking at their menus in earnest.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Any hope Sheldon's friends had that Friday night was gone by the next weekend, when the whole next week nothing was found of him. The police officers that were helping Penny couldn't devote anymore additional time to the case and Sheldon's disappearance was put on the older case files, as they worked more recent disappearances. Penny was more than concerned, because she was enough of an experienced cop to know that people don't really disappear suddenly and not leave some clues, and she started to think maybe Sheldon had run into some foul play. However she was not going to tell that to her friends, especially Amy, they were all worried already too much to hear about Penny's fears.

They all sat in Leonard and Penny's living room quietly drinking their respective drinks while lost in their own thoughts, that Sunday afternoon. Today there was one more of them, as Cheryl sat next to Raj, their first date ending in two more before the week was over and them now sitting next to each other, on Penny's couch. It seemed their liking of each other, picked up where it had left off years ago and their attraction to each other now turned out to be stronger than either one of them imagined. Also there that day, Bernadette and Howard sat on chairs next to each other, while Alex and Amy sat in the love seat, Amy extremely quiet, she seemed to shrinking into herself more and more as each day passed. Penny was in Leonard's chair, the one from his old apartment, while Leonard handed her a cup of organic decaf coffee, then sat on the chair arm.

"Thank you Sweetie." Penny told him with as much enthusiasm as she could muster in the solemn group sitting in the room.

"Penny have the police discovered anything about his disappearance?" Bernadette asked to open the conversation.

Penny slowly shook her head, "Nothing, they found nothing. I don't know what to tell you." Penny looked directly at Amy who was now staring back at her.

The conversation went slowly and sporadically for the next half hour as Cheryl watched the close friends share their grief that came from that they really hadn't found out a thing. She had been thinking while quietly watching them and leaned over to whisper something in Raj's ear, which made Raj nod excitedly, "Guys Cheryl has an idea."

Every eye turned to her and Cheryl suddenly felt self conscious, plus a little bit foolish, until Raj put his arm around her for comfort, giving her the courage to speak up. "I was just thinking, I keep a diary, and I know Penny does, do you think he had a journal."

"You know I think he did keep one." Leonard blurted out, which made everyone start talking with more excitement. As the conversation got more animated, Leonard turned to Penny, while everyone talked, "You have a diary?"

Penny stared at him for a moment taken back, before she slowly nodded, hoping beyond hope he wouldn't want to see it, but knowing how curious he was and she would probably have to show him. Letting him read it scared her, not because of what she wrote about him, he might like that she was writing nice things about him from the first day she saw him. What bothered her was the stuff before that, her time with Kurt and back home in Omaha that she was ashamed about.

Leonard could see the look in her eyes and knew some things were better left a mystery. "Honey, I don't need to see it. Everybody has their secrets they keep to themselves." then he gave her a little smile.

"Honey, I promise there is nothing bad in there about you." Penny thought she had to tell him, and was relieved when he just nodded then turned back to the group's conversation.

Thankfully both of them became distracted when someone brought up how they might find Sheldon's journal as they now all concentrated on finding the one new possible clue. It was later that night, after they talked about the journal and what they could do, and a quick dinner of pizza, that the group broke up. "Okay here is the plan, Penny will get the police tape and lock off the apartment door and we will meet at the apartment after work to search it." All the group nodded, to Leonard's summary of the plan and for once in the last week of disappointments there was a little hope in their eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Overcoming Fear**

Monday morning, while Penny was getting the paperwork straight to search Sheldon's apartment that evening, making sure everything was legal, Sheldon had been finishing putting his equipment together for his trip. It was the fourteenth day from the day he left and he was now ready, well more like prepared, he actually didn't feel ready, he was more scared. The thought of actually now putting himself through time, terrified him and for the last hour he just sat at his computer trying to convince himself that the danger he was concerned about was all in his mind and not real.

Even though over the last six months, he had sent several animals back in time, and had verified there where no long term effects, he was still scared. The last animal, he had sent, was a monkey, from the department Amy had worked in at Cal Tech, and still after a month it had seemed fine, he had even checked on it two nights ago to verify that. Sheldon had also verified that the animals were not molecularly disassembled during the time travel, like a Star Trek transporter, because Leonard and him had already agreed, during numerous discussions, that doing that was killing the original and creating a doppelganger when the person was reassembled. No his machine captured the whole subject in the energy stream and transported it intact, no disassembly, but right now, knowing that, didn't even help Sheldon's fears.

Sheldon sighed and looked back at the spot in the center of the room, between the four field generators, the place where his knapsack sat, waiting for him. He had taken a huge risk getting it a couple of days ago, when he put on a hoodie and went out that night to buy what he needed for his trip. He was actually lucky in a way, he only had to go one place to get everything and it was a place he had never been before, so no one knew him, even though it still had been a huge risk to leave his room. Because even around Cal Tech on a Saturday evening people were still around and Sheldon had been so scared of being caught, the trip had taken twice as long as it should have.

However, now as he sat looking at the knapsack, while he sat in the period clothes, he found he couldn't move, even though logistically he was ready, his mind would not let him go. It had been that way for over an hour and Sheldon was feeling he would never be able to go, because the longer he sat the more scared he got. He knew the brilliant scientist never tested his machines on themselves, only the mad scientist did that, the brilliant one got some lackeys or Government soldiers to test it for him. The brilliant scientist was always too valuable to risk testing such things, so other people went out to prove or die testing the scientist's theories. Sheldon needed a grad student to send, that was it, a grad student, therefore if something happened no one important would be lost. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it couldn't work, the secrecy would be lost and he couldn't do that, it would ruin his plan of over ten years if anyone else knew.

So what was Sheldon to do, he couldn't send someone else and he couldn't go, he was caught between a rock and a hard place, and the answers alluded him. He was so frustrated, he was beside himself, and as he sat there a new thought came to his mind, Lewis had won! If he didn't go, Lewis would be the person who solved string theory, the dirty cheater, would be famous by stealing everything from Sheldon, his work and his girl. Sheldon had always thought, in the back of his mind, that once he got the Nobel Prize, Amy would understand and he would get her back, only her marriage announcement dulling that dream for him. No, Sheldon paid to much for what Lewis stole, and as Sheldon's heart sped up and his breathing increased, his eyes narrowed. 'Lewis is not getting away with this.' his mind screamed and as the rage built in him, Sheldon hit the start switch on his computer with his cursor, got up and walked to spot between the field generators, picking up his knapsack and tried to suppress his fear, while closing his eyes.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny gently peeled back the police tape then put the key in the special police lock on the door. It was actually her that had the apartment sealed up like this after the initial search, she had been worried that someone would go back in and ruin any evidence they might need to find Sheldon, if things got bad, like they were now. Penny opened the door then turned to all her friends, giving them all a small lecture on what to do or not do, then she handed out the latex gloves for them all to wear. She wasn't a hundred percent certain this was a good idea, but she also knew fresh eyes sometimes found things that previous searchers overlooked, so she lead her friends in and they began the search.

Standing outside Sheldon's bedroom, Penny's mind was again in turmoil, she had searched his room before herself, and maybe she wasn't the one that should do it again now. Standing with her were Amy and Leonard, and she knew they were thinking the same thing as her, Sheldon's room seemed like temple, it was the man's sanctuary, and entering without his permission seemed like a crime.

Penny looked at her friend and husband, know what she needed to do. "I searched his room before." Penny then sighed, that confession off her chest, as she noticed the sympathetic looks from them both. "I think you two should do it this time, so you could search with different eyes." Penny was actually relieved when they nodded and she wouldn't have to go in there again.

Leonard looked at Amy, the last two weeks had been really hard on her, and it broke his heart to see her like this now. "You ready, Amy?"

Amy had been feeling empty, and seemed barely aware of things around her, what they were doing now had put some life back in her, at least they were doing something, but she still felt that a part of her had been taken. The last two weeks had made Amy realize that she needed Sheldon, him being gone, had taken a part of her with him. Over the last couple of years, her hanging around with her friends and still seeing him at group gatherings had made going on with her life possible, but now him just being gone was something she could not bare. She looked up at Leonard and slowly nodded, "I'm ready." Then followed Leonard into Sheldon's room.

It was like going into another world, even with a very thin layer of two weeks of dust, it was still extremely neat, Sheldon neat, and Amy and Leonard, couldn't help the overwhelming feeling that Sheldon was still there. The both stood inside and looked around, afraid to move and disturb things, the thought of even doing something like that, being equated by them as committing a sin. So they just stood there, finally looking at each other helpless, both of them trying to will the other to do something, so that the other would not feel like they were committing sacrilege.

Penny watched from the doorway, knowing exactly how her husband and friend where feeling, she had felt the same way herself almost two weeks ago. She had stood in the room almost a half hour before she could get herself to move and even then, the overwhelming feeling that she was doing something extremely wrong, would not go away. She had to help them, "Guys, you need to search, you are not desecrating his room, you are trying to find and help him, keep that in mind." She said to comfort them and she knew she had helped when they looked at her and nodded, then began to move.

It was almost an hour later as Amy and Leonard stood in the room looking at each other, both dull from the search, especially since they found nothing. Amy felt weak, her legs were so tired, she didn't even realize when she sat down on the edge of Sheldon's bed, her mind was just so weary her body seemed not connected to it any more. It was that scene that greeted Penny as she looked in the room again, Amy sitting on Sheldon's bed, her husband standing over her, his face in worry.

"Anything, Sweetie?" Penny asked softly.

Leonard looked at her with a little surprise, her catching him lost in his own thoughts. He slowly shook his head, "No, nothing."

"How can he just disappear, Penny!" Amy's outburst caught Penny by surprise and when Amy's face turned to Penny the tears that started to fall from her eyes, broke Penny's heart. Penny moved quickly to her friend, sitting next to her and taking her into her arms, her quick movements making the bed move slightly on the floor in Penny's haste. Penny didn't see the confused expression form on Leonard's face as he stared at the corner of the bed, the part that slipped on the floor, and she didn't see his expression change to one of self thought as he tried to remember why that noise seemed important to him.

Penny held Amy for a time, while Leonard stood there looking at them and thinking, the room remaining quiet except for the occasional sniffle coming from Penny's shoulder. So when Leonard spoke and broke the silence, both girls jumped and immediately looked at him in confusion and shock. "Sheldon use to move the furniture." Leonard repeated to them as they just stared at him. "I use to hear it every so often, he would move the furniture. I just assumed it was some crazy thing he did, but what if he did it to hide something?"

Penny looked around the room, what Leonard said finally sinking in, she never moved the furniture to search, it had seemed too intrusive at the time and she could see that they hadn't done it either. She looked at back at Leonard and nodded, then looked at Amy. "We need to look behind the furniture." and Amy just nodded.

It was only fifteen minutes later the three of them were staring at the wall behind the dresser, well not actually the wall, more accurately the baseboard and how a small section of it didn't look right. Penny reached down and easily removed the one foot piece, then putting her hand in the opening, immediately finding the plastic covered object. It took only a few seconds to bring in to the center of the room, and as all three of them looked on Penny removed the book from the plastic and opened it to the first page. The three of them looked at each other it amazement, neither of them able to speak, they had found Sheldon's journal.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - Discovery**

Sheldon could feel the electricity and ozone around him, it made every hair on his body stand up, the feeling also made Sheldon open his eyes and the wonder he saw amazed him. Sheldon was in a conduit, which he knew was pure energy, however since it was energy, its walls seemed almost clear which gave him of view of all that was outside it. He was traveling in space at what appeared to be incredible speeds, but Sheldon knew the velocity was distance over time, and time was now being twisted, so everything he was perceiving could just be an illusion. It was almost too much for his mind to comprehend, but then it got even more incredible, he could see it up ahead, a vortex, he was heading to a vortex and he knew that vortex was the wormhole, a wormhole to another universe.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny, Amy and Leonard sat on the edge of Sheldon's bed as Penny opened the book to the last page, Amy and Leonard sitting on each side of her, looking over her shoulder. If they were hoping for some revelation on where Sheldon was, they were only treated to disappointment as they read his last entries. They only contained his feelings of his work finally yielding the success he always knew it would and his feelings of how he would now get the Nobel Prize he deserved. It was obviously written before Lewis published his paper and it offered no help in finding where Sheldon had gone.

The three friends looked at each other in defeat, everything had happened after this last entry, all their searching seemed to have been for nothing. Leonard and Penny both looked at Amy as she started to cry again, any hope she had at finding Sheldon now dashed, her mind now falling into despair. Penny turned and pulled her friend into her arms again, while Leonard took the journal from Penny so it wouldn't fall on the floor.

Leonard, sat there on Sheldon's bed, while Penny sat down next to him, holding Amy, it had been a huge let down, they had all hoped that the journal would somehow tell them were Sheldon had went. Leonard slowly opened the book again and started to thumb back from the last entries, a slight hope that in previous entries, Sheldon maybe gave an indication of places for them to search for him. Leonard, who could read very fast, had only flipped back about 20 pages when suddenly two words jumped out to him off the page, two words that scared him. 'Time Machine'. "Oh Shit!"

Penny was still holding and comforting Amy, so was surprised at her husbands outburst. "What's wrong Sweetie?"

Leonard took a breath and looked at Penny, "Sheldon, says here he invented a time machine."

Penny scrunched up her face and looked at him like he was nuts. "Your kidding, right?" Penny was even a little aggravated at Leonard from bringing up such crap now, Amy was really upset and they still didn't know where Sheldon was, so talking about some toy seemed wildly inappropriate right now.

Leonard shook his head, he was extremely agitated, which made Penny look at him now in concern, something seemed wrong. "Penny you know him, if anyone could do it, that wacko could. I always said he was one accident away from being a super villain. But there is another thing, Sheldon always said that solving String Theory was also part of the solution for time travel. Penny, like I said he solved String Theory."

Amy pulled her head off of Penny's shoulder, interest in her eyes now, instead of tears. "Sheldon talked about String Theory and time travel many times, when we dated. He even talked about what would be needed to build one." Amy stated to Leonard.

"Leonard, Amy, you're scaring me. I've read some of the science fiction books and seen some of the movies you took me to. Isn't going back in time extremely dangerous, for everyone and the world?" Penny now had a worried expression to match the sickening feeling in her gut and it wasn't from the baby.

"Extremely, accidentally disturbing time even has been nicknamed the 'Butterfly Effect', a small change can ripple through time, eventually changing everything, destroying time as we know it." Amy just nodded to Leonard's answer to Penny.

"Oh my God, Leonard! You don't really think Sheldon did it, time traveled into the past. Oh my God!" Penny eyes looked down to her tiny baby bump and then shot look to her husband.

The worry on his wife's face was contagious and Leonard now started to feel really worried, but thought of something to comfort her. "He still needs to have the machine, he can't do it without a time machine. He would have had to build a machine."

Penny who had now grabbed the journal from him, started to read from the top, and then pointed to the paragraph she had been reading. "It says here, he completed it in his hide-a-way."

"Raj and Howard checked that, the first day, he wasn't there, and there was definitely no time machine."

"Yes but did they look for clues, did they search it?"

"No, they were looking for Sheldon, not clues. It is in the basement of the University."

Penny nodded. "Sweetie, lets go check it out." Penny then looked at Amy who just nodded in agreement.

The three of them told their friends their plan and agreed to notify them if they found anything. So it was only a few minutes later, after Penny relocked the door, that they were wished luck by, Raj, Alex, Howard and Bernadette, and headed off to Cal Tech. Penny drove, and it was creepy how no one, in the car, said a word the whole way to the university, even her, because honestly she didn't know what to say.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon had been terrified as the energy stream had approached the wormhole, only to have it open up to swallow him, but then nothing changed, he was just traveling in it instead of space, everything was the same. The amount of perceived time was actually short, if time meant anything now, because as far a Sheldon understood, the wormhole was a timeless place, so it wasn't very long before the energy conduit left the wormhole and dumped him back into space again, only this space was different. Sheldon immediately recognized the colors were wrong, instead of space being black and stars white, space was now purple and stars yellow. However he didn't have much time to dwell on it as he now discovered the energy conduit heading directly to a planet and he became scared again because at the speed they were traveling, he felt they would never be able to stop in time.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

It was an hour later when security opened the door to the room, in the basement of the university building, Penny's badge and Leonard's position getting them immediate support by campus security. Penny made Leonard, Amy and the guard stand outside, she had training in crime scene search, so she went in alone. A couple minutes later she came out, dejection on her face. "No one has been in this room for months, there is a fine layer of dust over everything."

Leonard shook his head, "So it is not here, it is not this room."

"No." Penny then walked over to Amy to put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.

Penny then suddenly looked at him, "No not this room. Sweetie has Sheldon ever tried to deceive you, or the guys?"

"Yeah, several times."

Penny nodded and looked down the hallway, then at the guard. "Do you have the keys to all these rooms?"

The guard nodded then looked to Leonard, who nodded back looking at the rooms. "Please, open them, open them all."

It was the fifth room, it was full of equipment and it was obvious it had just been used, the computers were still on. Leonard looked at Penny, then Amy, his face both in awe and fear, "Crap."

Penny couldn't keep tears forming in her eyes as she rubbed her very small bump and looked at her husband. She loved her life, her husband and the little baby in her, she didn't want it to change, 'Please don't let it change'. she thought.

Leonard quietly said to Penny and Amy, "We need to determine what happened and how bad it is."

Penny pulled herself together and put herself into Officer Hofstadter mode, turning to the guard and holding up her badge. "This is now a crime scene, for the missing person case of Dr Sheldon Cooper. No one goes in here without my permission, I am officer in charge. Contact who you need to, but this room is to be secured. Dr Hofstadter, Dr Fowler and I are now going inside to investigate. Again, no one comes in here without my permission. Please give me the key."

The guard looked to Leonard who nodded and so he gave Penny the key. As they went in the room, they heard the guard on the radio explaining the situation and the shift supervisor telling him to do what Penny wanted. The farther Leonard got into the room, the more he knew Sheldon had done it. Sheldon had talked for years about time travel and even discussed what was needed to accomplish it. Now as Leonard looked at the components around the room he could see that some of them matched what Sheldon talked about. What really caught Leonard's eye was the four field generators, they were set up in such a way that a man with his equipment could easily stand with them around him. They looked like four poles with wires coming from them, but Leonard knew they were the devices that would generate the actual field to allow the traveler to move in time.

"This is incredible." Amy's words surprised Leonard, she had not said anything for a while and her words were perfect to describe what Leonard himself was thinking.

"Yeah, I guess it is." However Leonard couldn't feel any elation in what he was seeing. He felt sweat drip down his back, this was bad, really bad, he was now only very scared and he looked at Penny, he didn't want time to change, he didn't want to loose her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 - Arrival**

Just when Sheldon thought he was going to crash into the planet, he found himself standing on it. The colors almost overwhelming him, they were all completely wrong and in this wild mix of color, he could see beings. He didn't think they knew he was there until one small being turned to look at him, then Sheldon was gone again, back in the energy stream racing back to the wormhole. For the moment it didn't seem as scary and Sheldon's mind drifted back to the snapshot his mind made of the planet he had just appeared on, and the being that saw him. It was smaller than the others, it could have been a child and it eyes increased in size when it looked his way, Sheldon was sure it saw him, even if only for a second. This was truly fascinating, a discovery worthy of Spock himself, there were beings in alternate universes and Sheldon had actually seen one. However as the energy stream entered the wormhole again, the place of null time, Sheldon had another worry, would his original plans come true and would he actually come close to where he wanted to go?

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leonard had looked at everything, in the room, for about a half hour and the more he looked the more depressed he got, the equipment seemed to confirm his original observation, upon walking in, it was a working time machine. What was even more disturbing was it was left running, meaning that Sheldon may now be wandering though time at that very moment. He sat down on one of the chairs, in front of the computer, and was about to touch the mouse, to make the screen come up, but thought better of it, they needed an expert, they needed Howard. So Leonard pulled out his phone and quickly sent Howard a text, telling him to get there immediately, then after hitting send closing his eyes and pinching the top of his nose, he was on the verge of getting a huge headache.

Leonard sat there a couple moments, with his eyes closed, until something dawned on him, he remembered he was not alone and yet the girls had said nothing. His eyes shot open and he looked for Penny, immediately feeling bad as he saw her standing near the door staring at him with eyes that showed confusion and fear. Leonard got up to go to her while looking for Amy, who he found was still walking around the room staring at everything in wonder.

Leonard walked right up to Penny and took her in his arms, she offered no resistance, her head going right to his shoulder, her mouth near his ear. "Leonard what does this all mean?" she whispered.

Leonard closed his eyes again, he wanted to comfort her, but that would mean lying to her, and they were too much partners for him to treat her like that, especially now. "Honey, I think that is a time machine and I think Sheldon used it."

Penny voice cracked with he next words, "This is bad isn't it?"

Leonard slightly nodded his head, "Yeah, it is."

"Leonard what is going to happen now?"

"I honestly have no idea." At least Leonard didn't have to lie about that.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon appeared exactly where he had planned, in a small field in England, the area still looking the same from when he Googled a satellite picture of it from his time, but the question now was, did he land in the right time. His fears were soon alleviated when he heard the droning noise and looked up to see the B-17 flying in the distance, slowly coming towards him, almost to a point overhead, the sound and the silhouette matching exactly with the information provided over the internet he studied before he left. It was even colored olive drab and Sheldon knew at least he is in the right period of time, World War II, but again he wondered if he got the right date. He pulled out his map and took his bearings, he needed to go north to the next town, so with a little nervousness he started his walk north, his sincere hope that he didn't botch his timing up again like he did with the release of his String Theory paper.

It seemed to take forever, but in actuality it was only a little over an hour before Sheldon got to the edge of the town and started down the streets. He knew his uniform was right for the time when an enlisted man saluted him as they passed on the sidewalk, Sheldon returning the salute as best he could after practicing for the whole day yesterday, which was really in the future now. There were other soldiers too, some who passed him and he had to return their salutes also, however soon he found everyone was saluting him, and although it was tedious, he became nervous at all the attention he was getting. What bothered him even more was that they all seemed to stare at him and it suddenly made him wonder if maybe there was something wrong in his mannerisms or the way he looked.

Sheldon was getting more nervous by the minute and was looking at some men across the street who where looking at him, and he thought talking about him, when he ran right into another Army officer, almost knocking him down. The collision stunned him and Sheldon was about to say he was sorry, but he man quickly jumped to attention and saluted, "I'm so sorry sir, please forgive me." Sheldon stared at the man confused, not understanding why he was apologizing when Sheldon was the one who bumped into him, but he saluted him back.

"Sir is everything all right?" The man looking at him now, as Sheldon stared at him, with a confused expression on his face.

Sheldon shook his head, trying to understand what was happening, "Yes, thank you and I was the one who bumped into you, so I am sorry."

The man stared at him for a moment longer then relaxed a little. "Thank you sir, I will be more careful though in the future. Sir you seemed a little lost, is anything I could do to help you."

Sheldon looked at the man's rank and searched his mind for the rank chart he studied, "Thank you Major, yes maybe you can help me." Sheldon began his cover story, he had made up, to get to where he wanted to go. "I just got in today on the train and I need to go to the airbase."

"Sir, I am from the airbase, I came here today with a couple of other pilots, we have room to take you with us when we go back." The Major smiled at him.

Sheldon wanted to smile, but kept his face passive. "Thank you Major, when will you be going back?"

"Well I was going to go to the café across the street and wait, because the guys will be back with the car in about a half hour. Would you like to join me sir?"

Sheldon nodded trying not to show the relief he suddenly felt, and followed the man to a table outside the café to order tea while he waited. The British tea was very strong, so Sheldon nursed his drink while looking around, the time period seemed right, but he still didn't know the date. He wanted to ask the Major what the date was, but was afraid that it would be too weird a request and would only make the man suspicious, so Sheldon kept quiet.

"Sir can I ask why you are going to the airbase, we don't get many full Colonels here. To be honest except for the Wing Commander, you are the highest ranked officer we have seen around here for months." The Major asked timidly.

Sheldon now realized why everyone was looking at him, his rank, he never even thought that his rank would make him stand out. He was masquerading as a Colonel Mark Owen, an Office of Strategic Services agent who served in England, during World War II searching out spies. He was assigned, as a cover, to the Inspector Generals (IG) office, the only person in that office knowing his real job, the Brigadier General in charge of the office. Sheldon read all about the man on the internet, released secret Government spy documentation, released since it was well over 50 years old and the people involved now dead.

Sheldon picked Owen because he could, as part of the IG's office have access to almost everything, and he could travel anywhere, his home unit confirming any assignment he was on, his General personally vouching for him when someone tried to check why he was doing something. Also, according to records Sheldon had read on the internet, Owen was on a three week assignment during the time Sheldon needed to be here, so he could masquerade as him without fear of being caught, if he had the right date. "Major, I am from the Inspector Generals office and I am doing a no notice inspection of the Air Base."

The Majors eyes went wide, this was a big deal. "Um Sir could you excuse me for a minute?" As soon as Sheldon nodded the Major ran into the Café proper and found a phone. It took him a few minutes to get the airbase and another few minutes to get the Wing Commander on the line. "Sir this is Major Handson. Sir you are not going to believe who I am sitting with in town right now." Handson then proceeded to tell the Wing Commander about the Colonel from the IG office.

While the Major was away though, Sheldon looked around Café, trying to find a clue to what date it was. He almost smiled when he saw an enlisted man sitting at the table on the far end, a newspaper in hand he was reading. Sheldon stood up and quickly walked over to the man. "Excuse me, I was wondering if that is today's paper?"

The man seemed immediately bothered by the interruption, but as soon as his eyes went to Sheldon's rank, they became as large as saucers, "Yes Sir, today's Star and Stripes."

"Could I just take a quick look at the first page, for a minute." Sheldon asked the man nicely.

"Yes Sir, of course." the soldier immediately handing Sheldon the front section.

Sheldon acted like he was looking at the articles on the front page, sensing the man looking at him the whole time. After acting like he read the titles of each article, he quickly glanced at the date, his breath catching as the month, day and year sunk into his mind. "Thank you." Sheldon handed back the paper and went back towards his table, a tiny smile forming on his face as he walked, he was only 4 days before the date he wanted. It was actually amazing, Sheldon had successfully arrived when he wanted to be there, in his mind he was dancing a happy dance, his plan was going to work.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 - The Plan Starts**

Leonard sat with Penny, holding her hand, Amy joining them a few minutes after they had pulled apart from their embrace, all of them sitting and not talking much, they were all lost in their own thoughts at the moment. Penny was a little overwhelmed, her mind racing at what was going to happen next, while Leonard felt like doom was just around the corner and there was nothing he could do about it. Amy was just numb, they all now thought Sheldon had hidden here for a while before he left, that was the hard thing for her to understand, also Leonard was pretty confident he traveled through time, and knowing Sheldon she wasn't honestly surprised.

The three of them were pulled out of their trance when they heard Bernadette's loud voice. "Well why don't you go in there and ask them!" Turning to see the security guard at the door with Bernadette and Howard behind him.

"It's okay, we called them." Leonard told the flustered man, Leonard for a moment sympathizing with him, Bernadette could be very scary sometimes.

Their friends walked in the room looking around, Howard's amazement evident in his eyes, "Wow." he mumbled several times while walking around all the equipment. Finally he walked up to Leonard and was given a quick rundown on all that they had discovered in the last couple of hours.

Penny was telling Bernadette what she knew, with Amy just sitting next to them listening, when Howard's outburst surprised them all, "WHAT THE HELL, LEONARD!" They all now looked at Howard as he became extremely animated and agitated, which made Bernadette get up to calm him.

"Howie calm down, what's wrong?" Penny had not gotten to telling Bernadette everything before Howard's outburst.

Howard just looked at Bernadette for a second then began. "Bernie that arrogant asshole really did it this time. This crap around you is a time machine, a real freaking time machine, and that crazy bastard used it to go back in time!"

Bernadette now looked around in disbelief, "Your kidding." she said with a small smile because she thought he was joking, then that smile turned to a frown as she saw how serious Leonard and Howard were. "No, that is impossible." Bernadette shook her head not wanting to believe them.

Penny sniffled a little, again rubbing her hand on her baby bump, then feeling Amy's hand on her back rubbing it, obviously to comfort her. She was having a hard time trying to understand what was going to happen to them all now, and desperately wanted someone to tell her everything was going to be okay. "Amy are we in trouble?" she whispered her voice now like a little girl's.

Amy just looked at her, "Penny I don't know, the theories about time travel are many and quite diverse. I just don't know."

"But things will not change or people will not disappear will they?" Penny was almost pleading, she felt so helpless and useless right then.

Amy shook her head, then sighed, "Some of the theories, believe that is exactly what will happen, if something changes. I don't know." Amy seeing the change of expression on Penny's face suddenly realized that maybe the truth was not appropriate at this time after all.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The car ride to the airfield was quiet and now the attention Sheldon had been getting in town, due to his high rank, seemed worth it, because the men with him appeared too intimidated to ask him questions. That was one of the things that bothered him most about this whole situation, questions, because although he had learned to lie better over the years, and he had studied history before he left his time, he was still on fragile ground. If anyone got too deep into his past or his knowledge of the Army, he was going to fold like a cheap suit and that still scared him. However right now he could just rest an enjoy the ride, the men in the car quiet, so Sheldon could just think.

It surprised him, when after all he had gone through that day, his thoughts went immediately to Amy, and how he so missed her. She had been one of the big mistakes in his life, the biggest, and as things slowing came in perspective to him, after Lewis published his paper, Sheldon realized that he had made the wrong choice years ago. Another thing he hated to admit, was Leonard and Penny were right, the need and excitement of a Nobel Prize would come, then go, as he would strive for bigger things, but Amy would always be there for him, how could they be so right and him so wrong. He knew he wouldn't be here if Amy was with him and a slight doubt came into his mind, but as quickly as it came it was gone, Sheldon shaking his head, to concentrate on his plans for what he was going to do next.

It was just a little bit later when Sheldon saw the airfield in the distance, it was in the right place, but he was still concerned, because he really didn't know much about it. The relief he felt during the quiet ride to the airfield was now over, as the fear of the unknown took over, Sheldon would have to 'Wing it' as Leonard would say and Sheldon had never winged it before.

That thought though was quickly interrupted as the car Sheldon was in pulled to a stop in front of the main entrance gate.

Sheldon watched from the back seat as the guard walked purposely to the car, this part didn't actually make him nervous because his plan was coming together, he had prepared for this and he knew his papers would get him in without a problem. These people had never heard of photo shopping or laser printers yet, so he had perfect forgeries, the information on them taken directly over photos of actual papers on the internet. So Sheldon allowed himself a small smile as he watched the men it the car take out their papers and following their example, knowing he had nothing to fear.

The Private was surprised at the tall slender senior officer in the car when he looked inside the car, surprised of his rank, this was so unusual for this to happening. Never the less, he snapped to attention and saluted the Colonel as he recognized him looking back in the car. "Good afternoon Sir, can I see your papers?"

Sheldon smiled, and returned the salute, another thing he learning to be good at, since he had gotten there, now almost expecting to salute everyone he met. He was also pleased again that he studied military rank, because his ability, for almost total recall, was serving him again, letting him know that this man was a private and was much lower rank than him. "Certainly Private, here you go." Sheldon again had to hold back a smile, he was actually starting to like the Army, everyone seemed know their place and who their betters were.

The Private looked at the papers and they were all in order, however it was still strange the man had come to the gate, out of the almost nowhere, especially since he was from the Inspector Generals office. It was all just a mute point though, Privates didn't question Colonels, especially ones with these credentials, so he smiled, handed back the papers then saluted again. "Everything is in order sir. Thank You."

Sheldon saluted the Private back, putting his papers back in his pocket as he got comfortable in his seat again. Sheldon now really smiled, everything was working to plan, it actually made Sheldon relax some that he didn't have to verbally lie that much to these people, lying was still hard for him and he felt if it went on too long the ticks would appear again and give him away. However, that relaxed feeling ended quickly when the car he was in pulled through the gate and stopped next to another, this one olive drab, with a big white star on the side. It wasn't the car that disturbed Sheldon, it was the man outside it, he seemed confident and in charge and to Sheldon's dread he had the same rank Sheldon had on him.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Howard had been working on the computer code for about an hour, getting more and more frustrated as he went through what Sheldon had left there running. The girls had remained in chairs away from them while Leonard had sat next to him quietly, to not disturb him, however his presence still reminding Howard how important this all was to everyone. Finally Howard sighed. "Leonard there is nothing I can do tonight, I am tired and not thinking right and this is a mess."

"A mess?" Leonard was confused.

"Yeah, you can see the screen is in 'Windows 8', but the program Sheldon developed is not really linked to 'Windows' or using its Graphical User Interface. He wrote the program code in C++ and all Windows does is open it and start it running. There are no notes either, when you run it, it just lists a series of blanks from 1 to 89 that the user needs to fill in, maybe Sheldon and his mind knows what to put in those blanks, but I sure don't know what the hell to do with them."

"Are you saying there is nothing you can do?" Leonard was now more worried.

Howard shook his head, "No, I am so not done with this, believe me, but I will need to decompile this code and run a Department of Defense program, I have, on it that allows me to get an idea of what it does. It is going to take a while, so I really suggest we call it a night."

"Is there anything we can do to help." Leonard and he knew Penny felt helpless, they needed to do something or they would go nuts.

Howard looked around, "Yeah, there is a lot of crap here, so if you could look around tomorrow and find any notes Sheldon made, it might help us to understand this software quicker."

Leonard nodded. "Okay."

Howard then whispered. "Leonard, we talked about real time travel, when you got that movie prop, and we all determined, except Sheldon of course, that it was a really bad thing. You're the physicist, you know more about this scientifically than me, has your opinion changed?"

Leonard swallowed, there was no way he could sugar coat this to Howard, "No it is bad, real bad."

Howard nodded, "Okay, then we'll do this tomorrow. I want to be with Bernadette tonight, you understand?" Howard looked into Leonard's eyes and saw the understanding.

Leonard nodded, "I understand." The sudden urge to spend the rest of the night with Penny in his arms now being prominent in his mind too.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - Realization**

After their car stopped, Sheldon continued to sit in the back seat, unable to move, he absolutely had no idea of what to do, he hadn't planned for anything like this. However this static situation was broken when the Major sitting, in the back seat with him, opened his door and walked around the other side of the car to open Sheldon's door for him. Sheldon then watched him come to attention and give either Sheldon or the other officer a salute, which one it was Sheldon really didn't care. Sheldon was trapped now, he had to get out of the car, so with a sinking feeling that he was not in control anymore, he stepped out of the car.

The fear he felt inside the car was nothing like what he felt out the car, when the real fear took over, what was he suppose to do now? Was he suppose to salute the Major or the other officer, he had no idea what was the proper military social convention for the situation he was in, and now he had wished he never had gotten out of the car in the first place. He was going to have a panic attack, everything was falling apart, he had failed and Sheldon was about to spill everything he knew to these men.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy had been home for over an hour now, but she couldn't sleep, her mind was extremely alert trying to come to grips with everything that had happened today. Laying in bed only made everything worse, so she got up and got dressed, she needed fresh air, maybe fresh air would do something to clarify things for her. So Amy left her apartment building and started walking, and walking, not even knowing where she was going, but thinking about everything as she walked.

How she felt about Sheldon was still dominating her mind, ever since he turned up missing, she admitted something to herself that she probably knew all along, she still loved Sheldon Cooper. He was still her 'sweet baboo' and no matter how she thought she could move on with her life, he would still be the love of her life. Yes she had loved the man she pledged to marry, but when it all came down to it, he wasn't Sheldon, and she probably would never be happy with anyone else.

That was the second part of the problem, she felt responsible for all that happened, she wasn't there for him, when he needed her. She could have comforted him, she could have prevented him from doing this, from going back in time, from changing things. Amy knew Sheldon was not running away, Sheldon went back for a purpose, and Amy knew that purpose was to change things so that things were right. Amy stopped and looked around, things were going to change, she had no doubt about it and she just hoped they changed to a world where her and Sheldon were together.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny laid in bed with Leonard, it was one of those situations where she wanted him to tell her what would happen, even thought she knew she would hate the answer and it would haunt her. They had been so quiet since they locked the room and left the university, and that quietness was driving her crazy, because one of the main reasons they were so quiet was Leonard was really worried. Seeing him so worried was unnerving to Penny, even though she was the tough one in their marriage, he was still her rock, she depended on him and having him like this was scaring her to death. Penny couldn't take this anymore and turned in Leonard's arms to look at him. "Tell me Honey."

"Tell you what?" Leonard knew what she wanted, but was stalling.

"Leonard Leaky Hofstadter, you know exactly what I mean. I am your wife, you promised me you would always be honest with me, so tell me." Penny said with maybe a little too much determination then she actually felt.

Leonard swallowed, "Okay, Howard and I believe that the machine is real and Sheldon traveled in time."

"I know that Sweetie, you were crystal clear that happened." Penny said quietly to him. "Tell me the rest."

Leonard nodded, then leaned over and kissed her quickly. "Sorry, theoretically he could have gone forward or backward in time and if he went backward he could have gone back millions of years, even back to the dinosaurs. Until Howard figures out the software, we won't know."

Penny nodded then leaned over to quickly kiss him, to tell him it was okay and to encourage him to go on. "Okay, what does that mean to us, in this time."

"Going forward in time will not impact us now, maybe in the future, but not now. Going way back in time, could maybe not affect us either, the asteroid event that happened to wipe out the dinosaurs sort of reset everything."

"Okay, but what about the time between the asteroid and now." Penny tried to push him on.

Leonard looked at her for a long moment, "It would change things."

The look on Leonard's face made Penny want to cry, but she willed herself not too. "What would happen? How….how bad Honey?"

Leonard thought for a second, "It is like dropping a stone in a still pond, ripples occur that spread across the whole pond. A change in time is the same way, the farther back the change occurs the bigger the pond. There will be rocks and objects on the pond that will change those ripples, but they eventually cover the whole pond in some way. The resultant effect will depend on large the change he makes is, how far back and even who or what he interacts with to accomplish that change."

"So you mean, people could just disappear out of our lives, just like that?" Penny was now loosing the battle to hold back the tears.

"It is even more than that, depending how far back the change happens, it could change the outcome of wars even the political makeup of the world."

"Oh my God." Penny whispered. "Our lives could be ruined, everybody's lives could be ruined."

Leonard nodded, he hated to say the next thing, but he promised to be honest. "People you know could maybe never be born, we may never be born."

Penny gasped, her one hand going to the side of her husbands face, her second to the small bump on her belly. They were the two most important people to her and the thought of either of them not being born was too much for her to take, as the tears began to flow. "Leonard, I can't go on if I loose you or our baby." she said through her tears.

Leonard put his arms around her and held her close finally telling her the next part, "Penny you wouldn't even know. Not only would someone be gone but in your mind they would have never existed." He held Penny closer as she began to sob, his own grief changing just then to something else. Leonard knew he had to everything in his power to stop Sheldon, everything to make sure Sheldon didn't change this world.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

In another part of town, Howard and Bernadette held each other that night too, Howard not able to get what a horror this was out of his mind. They had talked about this at length, when Leonard got that time machine, went over every detail, going back in time was a stupid idea. Howard rubbed his wife's back, he knew she was awake, she was now understanding it all and she was smarter than him.

"Howie, how long do you think it would take?" Bernadette softly questioned.

"What take? To get Sheldon back?" Howard was confused.

"No, for anything Sheldon did to cause a change now?"

"I don't really have any idea, I don't think it would happen suddenly, because it would have happened already, but I really don't know. Also it would depend how far he went back on how the change really impacted us." Howard answered.

"But if something changed, we really wouldn't know it would we?"

Howard shook his head, "No we wouldn't, as a matter of fact, if it did happen immediately, there might have already been a change that we already accepted as happening. I just don't know."

"OH GOD!" Bernadette then started to cry. All Howard could do was hold her closer.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon wasn't going to last more than a few seconds more, as fear gripped him, then something unexpected happened, the other Colonel, took a step towards Sheldon and extended his hand. "Welcome to my unit, Colonel"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - The Computer Code**

Sheldon stared at the Colonel's offered hand in a state of shock, but finally recovering enough to just put his hand out and shake the other officer's hand without a thought in his mind, the relief that this man had just saved him from his panic, making him forget about all his fears of germs. He even found his voice, "Thank you." The next things happened were a blur for Sheldon, he was lead to the car, the Colonel had, and the next thing he knew he was being whisked off to some unknown destination. He didn't know what to say to the other officer, but then again the man saved him from entering a panic state again.

"So Colonel, what can I do to help the Inspector General's office?" The other man was completely serious, it seemed he did not want to engage in small talk which made Sheldon very happy.

Sheldon went over his fake story with the man. "Colonel, I have been ordered to take a look at all your planes and equipment. Sort of see if the units are equipped as they should be or if we need to prioritize equipment to keep them operating." Sheldon had read, on the internet, that Army inspectors were hated by combat units, only causing them trouble, but some inspections were actually made to help units and Sheldon decided to try that concept in his plan, to get the unit to actually help him.

The other Colonel nodded, "So you are actually here to help us and not just inspect us, for out faults, for headquarters?"

Sheldon shook his head, he needed access to the aircraft for his plan to work, so he thought if it appeared that he came there to help, it should only make things go smoother, it seemed he was right. "No Colonel, the Inspector Generals office is really there to help today and I am here to do just that." Again Sheldon's internet research was saving him.

The other Colonel nodded, "Okay, that is a refreshing change. Colonel let me know how I can help."

"Well, I will need to see your equipment, facilities and of course aircraft." The other Colonel nodded, obviously wanting to help and Sheldon nodded back, a small smile now on his lips, his plan now actually coming together.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The next morning, Penny rolled over in bed, she had not fallen asleep till about 3 or 4 in the morning and then only because fatigue had won over her fear. She always slept either on Leonard or in his arms, always in contact with him, but sometimes when she didn't sleep well she would roll around, like that morning. Those times, she would eventually half wake up, not feeling him, so would then immediately reach for him to get in contact with him again. That morning was one of those cases, she had now slept about four hours, tossing and turning in her sleep the whole time, and in a half awake state she didn't feel Leonard, so she moved towards him, but he wasn't there. Penny's eyes shot open, never in her life had she woken up so fast, and she turned her head to search the bed, while at the same time feeling the cold spot in the bed where Leonard should have been.

Leonard sat in their living room reading Sheldon's journal, he barely slept at all that morning, so he left his bed, his mind not able to relax, it still trying to find a way out of the situation they were all now in. The blood curdling scream from his bedroom, "Leonard!", terrifying him, making him jump up and run to his wife. What he found was heartbreaking, Penny was sitting up in bed sobbing and shaking, an expression on her face he hoped he never would have to see again. He practically jumped into the bed and took her into his arms as she collapsed into him trembling.

"Where…..where were you?" She barely croaked out.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't sleep so I went to read more of Sheldon's journal." he confessed.

Penny now had her arms around his neck holding him, "Don't leave me."

"I won't do that again without telling you, I promise." he tried to comfort her.

Penny sniffled, while she ran her face against his, holding him almost in desperation, "Please Leonard, don't leave me."

It was then he understood what she was asking and what really happened, he was missing and she thought he had just disappeared, ceased to exist. He wanted to tell her that she wouldn't have know he was gone if it really happened, but he was a lot smarter now and knew that would only make things worse. However he couldn't promise he would stay, none of them knew what would happen now, and again the thought of loosing her and their child sent a chill down his spine. So Leonard just held her in silence, while rubbing her back and gently rocking her, they stayed that way a long while that morning.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leonard, being a department head, quickly got permission to use Howard from the engineering department for few days, to support a special project he lied to his department about. Penny called off from work and so did Bernadette, both of them waiting in Leonard's office, for Leonard and Howard to go back down to the room. It was bad enough they both would not be able to concentrate on anything at work now, so going was useless, it wasn't even the reason they both called off. The reason they called off was neither of them wanted to let their husbands out of their sight for more that a few moments, they were afraid that if they went to work, when they were done, their men wouldn't be around anymore. No matter how much Leonard and Howard told them they wouldn't remember, both thought they would, that there was no way you could forget someone you loved and that if they kept their men close maybe they wouldn't loose them. They both were smart and knew they were being irrational, but with so little hope they clung to anything they could.

It took them almost an hour to get everything Howard needed, then they all went down to the room, to try and find out where Sheldon went. Howard immediately working on the computer, while Leonard, Bernadette and Penny searched through everything looking for any notes Sheldon had left. It was less than a hour after they started that Amy joined them and then Raj, along with Alex, found them after lunch.

It was later that afternoon when they all finally stopped searching for Sheldon's notes, after going through everything in the room at least 10 times. Everyone slowly stopping what they were doing to sit, nobody saying a thing, while all eyes were on Howard, who was watching his laptop work on a copy of Sheldon's software, decompiling it and attempting to determine what it did. Howard had been staring at the screen, a while, a numb feeling dominating his body, before he looked back at Bernadette trying to give her a comforting small smile he really didn't feel.

Leonard leaned over to whisper to him, "How long with this take?"

"I'm hoping it will be done in the next half hour, it has already completed 80 percent of the work." Howard shrugged.

Howard's lack of excitement made Leonard concerned, "Do you think you will understand what he did?"

Howard shook his head slowly, "This will let me just look at the code and how it is structured. Sheldon didn't use the Windows Graphic User Interface, he just wrote the whole code in C++ and ran it that way, so unless I can find notes telling me what he did….." Howard shook his head again, "I don't know." Howard had to figure out how the code operated to see where Sheldon went because he just used self defined time coordinates he developed, not actual dates. He needed Sheldon's notes and the data from the computer code, if he was every going to decode his work and determine where he went and the date.

It was very quiet in the room, Howard's laptop running while everyone sat not talking, so when Amy spoke, half of them jumped, "Did you look on his computer for any notes?"

Howard and Leonard both stared at her, but quietly mouthing "No."

It was only 5 minutes later they found his file, but again they were prevented from seeing his notes, the file was password protected. Howard looked at everyone, "Think, what passwords has Sheldon used before?"

Penny didn't even think about it, "Try AMY."

Howard and Leonard looked at her and nodded, Leonard typing in the three letters, while Howard watched, his running laptop in his lap. However it did not work, "Access Denied", the only thing displayed, immediately plunging them all into a feeling of defeat, until Amy spoke again, "Not Amy, use Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler."

Again Leonard and Howard nodded and Leonard quickly typed it in, the file opening and seven pairs of eyes immediately going wide, a couple of them with small smiles on their faces.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 - Discovery **

Sheldon did not sleep well, the Army officer's room he was given completely unsatisfactory in cleanliness as far as he was concerned. The only thing that let him sleep at all was the fact that he found himself wore out by the time he got to the room the night before. There were now only three days left, since when he got there and although he was at first happy he was close to the date he wanted, he now wondered if he would have enough time to do what he wanted to do. The Wing Commander, had given him a schedule, for the week, and although Sheldon liked schedules this one really didn't meet his goal. He only had three days left and according to the Wing Commander's schedule, he wasn't to inspect the airplanes till the fifth day, which would be too late, Sheldon needed to modify his plan.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

They had Sheldon's notes, but they were almost three thousand pages long, he had started putting them on the computer months ago and they covered everything that he had done the last year. Leonard and Howard knew it would take a long time to go over all the notes so they got a laptop for everyone to load a copy and they all went through them, as fast as possible. It was only a couple of hours later that the seven of them sat in the room, each pair of them quietly reading a section of the notes, except Amy who was reviewing all the data on the test animals Sheldon sent through time.

Amy was the first one to speak, "I'm going over to the animal holding area and check on the monkey he used, but to be honest, Sheldon's post animal test review and conclusion is very concise and I don't expect there to be any errors." She couldn't help the little bit of pride she felt in the way he did his work.

"So you think he confirmed that organic life could safely travel through time with no ill effects, which would mean he must have done it successfully himself." Leonard asked, silently knowing Sheldon would never take a risk with himself, so it must be true.

Amy nodded, it actually made her feel good after she read his notes, she was now sure he traveled successfully and would not be hurt. She also didn't have any illusions that he would not create time ripples and she still held the hope they would be together in the end. "I'm going to check the animal now, just to make sure." Leonard and Howard nodded and she went off.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Howard, after reviewing the notes for hours, finally determined how the date coordinate system worked, a little after supper. They hadn't left the room all day and the pizza boxes from their evening supper where now scattered over the room. Penny, who was a much faster reader now since her graduate school days, found the date, Sheldon wanted, while skimming through the notes quickly, while Leonard read them in depth.

"May 27, 1944." was all she said, everyone turning to her immediately.

"What date is that?" Howard responded first.

"It says here, it is the best date to accomplish his task. Something about a Colonel Owens and an airbase." Penny explained as she skimmed over the notes.

"What page?" Leonard and Howard almost said at the same time. It was only a few minutes later everyone was reading that area of the notes.

Leonard was the first one to voice what they all were reading, "He is going to do something to an airplane it says here, something that will change things!"

"That stupid bastard, he is trying to change history only a little over a week from D-Day." Howard exclaimed, surprising them all with his outburst.

Leonard's eyes went wide, he forgot about D-Day being so close, 'CRAP' he thought, if Sheldon changes something about World War Two, the ripples are going to be huge, they would change everything, 'CRAP' went through his mind again. Leonard glanced at Penny, the thought of loosing her and the baby or even that she may never be born, terrified him. However everything that had happened, over the last couple days, only confirmed his worst fears, it was like living a nightmare.

"Doesn't he know the risk of changing something before an important world event?" Bernadette added.

"How bad is this?" Penny now looked directly and her husband, realizing that even though she had a masters she knew so little about the science knowledge Leonard used every day.

It shocked them all that it was Amy that answered in a calm almost robot like voice. "If what he does impacts the events of D-Day it could basically change the whole economic and political make up of the world."

Penny stared at Amy then back to Leonard, "Could it make people…." Leonard looked back at her, he knew she was scared but he couldn't lie to her, so he just nodded to her.

No one said a thing for a few moments, just looked at each other, no one knowing what to say, it was so overwhelming. Finally Leonard looked at Howard and asked him to get coffee with him. Penny watched Leonard, him asking Howard to get coffee was so uncharacteristic of him. She was just about to ask him what the hell was happening, when she suddenly thought maybe she didn't want to know. It was so surreal, she worked on crimes and real world things everyday, but this was incredible, it reminded her of one of those SiFi movies she watched with Leonard, a horrible event happening to the world and only scientists could save them. She looked over at Bernadette who just looked back at her with an expression that told Penny she didn't know what was going on either, so both girls said nothing, as their men looked at each other with understanding.

Howard nodded, at Leonard's request, his eyes wide, it was so obvious something was up, and Leonard wanted to talk in private. Leonard didn't say a thing till they had already left the room and were leaving the basement. "Howard we have to go back and stop him."

"Stop him from doing what?" Howard couldn't help snapping at him, everything that was happening was all just too much to take.

"He went there to do something, that involves an airplane, it has to be about this whole thing with the Nobel, there has to be a logical reason he picked that time. We have to find out what."

"Leonard, we need to try and find out more before we do anything. England was full of troops, both English and American, plus many other countries, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack." Howard watched Leonard as his words sunk in.

Then suddenly, Howard and Leonard looked at each other, the same thought came to both of them at the same time. "Lewis!"

Howard turned around and moved quickly back, the way they came, to the room grabbing his laptop and typed Lewis and World War II into the search section of Google. Leonard wasn't sure it would do any good but he stood over his shoulder watching, "Howard, with there being millions of soldiers in the war, finding one is going to be hard without some serious help."

Howard just looked at Leonard with surprise, "Not for Lewis, there are references to a bomber pilot in the war, named Lewis, who flew out of a bomb wing in England during that time."

'The airplane' Leonard thought, as he quickly sat down on Howard's side and started reading. The other five people in the room, who watched Howard and Leonard run back into it, to use the computer, now came up behind them and started reading the screen with them, again no one saying a word.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Day three for Sheldon had been almost more than he could stand, he was escorted by a senior officer, from the Wing Commanders staff, around all the maintenance facilities that day, finally ending the day with the Wing Commander, for a review of the days events. The Wing Commander obviously didn't like Colonel Owens so only talked with him about the inspection and findings, which was a huge relief for Sheldon. However, the day had turned out to be tedious and useless when it came to Sheldon's plan and he was still at a loss on how to accomplish his goal.

Tomorrow was the last full day he had till the mission on the fourth day and Sheldon still hadn't figured out a way to get to the airplanes and the one he wanted. He sat at the desk in his room and picked up his knapsack to pull out the devices he had brought for that airplane. The were four of them and they were small and their design he had actually gotten off the internet, you could almost get anything off the internet. They were also simple, each had a cheap electric watch, a small circuit board, a solenoid, battery and one of his grandfather's bullets from his World War II revolver he brought back from the war, that Sheldon also had in his knapsack.

The devices themselves used a watch to time their operation, while the small circuit board would operate the solenoid at the right time, using the battery for its power. The solenoid purpose was to cause a pin to hit the firing pin of the bullet, resulting in a very small explosion confined to a very small area. A cartridge, without a chamber to hold it, would just explode like a small bomb, the bullet and case acting like shrapnel. The idea was if these four little small bombs, were placed near a cylinder of each of the four engines of a bomber, their blasts would be just large enough to break an engine piston cylinder, leaking all the oil out and causing the engine to seize and stop working, making the plane crash. Sheldon needed to get to a particular aircraft and plant one of these bombs into each engine compartment to make this happen and that was his problem. Sheldon needed to plant these so the aircraft named "Happy Jack" crashed that day and its pilot Major Lewis went down with it, because Major Lewis was Dr Raymond Lewis' grandfather.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Remember throughOUT the story, we are talking about time travel so a day for Sheldon does not mean a day for the gang or the other way around. The time Sheldon is in, is history for the gang, time that has long passed and the time the gang is in, is now the future for Sheldon, stuff that didn't happen yet. **

**Chapter 13 - Fear and Action**

Sheldon took a walk that evening, really a reconnoiter, before it got dark and walked as close as he could to the aircraft parked on the ramp. He stood there just looking at each plane trying to see the plane he was looking for while trying to figure a way to go to them without getting in trouble. Sheldon didn't even hear the Wing Commander walk up behind him until the man spoke. "I come to look at them too when I get the time."

Sheldon almost jumped, turning quickly to look at the man. "Um, I'm not use to seeing so many aircraft in one place." he lamely said.

"I just wish they were all here every day, however, there are always some that don't return." The Wing Commander sadly commented.

It was then Sheldon got an idea, "Colonel I need to inspect the planes before they go on the next mission, then again when they return. It will give me a good idea of the wear and tear they are experiencing in combat and how we can support units like yours better."

The Wing Commander nodded, "Okay that make sense, I can't tell you exactly when the next mission is, but tomorrow would be a good time to inspect them, if that is okay with you."

Sheldon let a small smile form and nodded his heard, "That would be fine Colonel." Sheldon then forced himself to shake the mans hand, "I guess, I'll call it a night." with that done he turned and headed back to his room, a bigger smile now on his face, his plan now back on track.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The next couple of days the gang had read all Sheldon's notes and figured out how his computer program worked, the one that controlled all the equipment and accomplished the generation of the energy conduit for time travel. They also knew when and were he went and had a good idea why, he planned on making sure Dr Raymond Lewis was never born. It was hard to believe Sheldon would actually plot the end of another human being, but the guys had to admit, Sheldon's well being seemed to deteriorate after he lost Amy. They had kept him in group activities and made sure they still had games night and such, but Sheldon never seemed as happy as when he was Amy, so they partially blamed themselves for Sheldon's actions.

The girls had not been taking the situation well, they had not been away from Howard and Leonard's side practically the whole time, both of them putting in for vacation time from their jobs. The strain was getting to them all, Penny especially since her hormones were already in flux from the pregnancy. It broke Leonard's heart when she would just break down sobbing uncontrollably, her understanding and thoughts about what was happening terrifying her, her fears for the baby and her need for Leonard to be there to help raise it, creating an intense sense of doom in her.

It was that concern for her, that was why Leonard was using his laptop in their bed while she slept next to him. After the first night, he could not leave her side at night, the fear he saw in her eyes, the night when she screamed for him, still haunting him. So after only sleeping a few hours, he was wide awake again, going over Sheldon's notes for probably the third time trying to find anything that would help. He was so engrossed in the computer screen he almost jumped when she spoke.

"Leonard how will it happen?" Penny's voice was low and flat, it sounded like a person who had a fatal disease and had accepted that they were going to die, again it broke his heart.

He thought he knew what she wanted to know, after the last few days she had asked similar questions, sort of trying to prepare herself for the worse. "A change in the timeline?"

Penny's eyes were wide open as she looked at him, "Yes."

"I wish, I really could tell you something definite, some fact on what was going to happen, but really no one knows exactly what it will be like." He said honestly.

"Leonard you are the smartest person I have ever known, tell me what you think." She softly responded.

Leonard, knew she knew Sheldon was smarter than him, but decided this was not the time to remind her, and just accepted her feelings about him. "I think it will not happen right away, there is some kind of delay that will happen before anything happens, there is even a little bit of proof it works that way."

"Did something happen?" Penny now sat up quickly to look at him.

"Well something actually didn't happen. Once we understood how Sheldon's equipment worked we discovered how he was coming back, it was an automatic return system. The computer waits a couple minutes after the outgoing item goes through time, then switches to search for something Sheldon referred to as a marker. The marker is a transmitter that the machine can detect and it brings the marker, and item associated with it, back. Since we are talking about time, there is no wait, it just looks for the marker signal anywhere in time. So anything going back in time, using a marker, should return a couple minutes after it left." Leonard explained.

"Sheldon didn't return!" Penny was starting to understand.

Leonard nodded, "Because he has already changed something. His going back in time probably changed something just by his interaction with other people."

Penny just stared at him for a moment, then pushed herself close to him getting under his arm so he could hold her. "Leonard I love you, I have always loved you."

Leonard gave her a small smile, "I know you love me, I love you too."

"No Sweetie, I fell for you the first day I met you, it was just so sudden, I kept telling myself I was just crushing on you because I was rebounding from Kurt. The night of that first Halloween Party, I wasn't that drunk, I was there for you to take, if you wanted me, but you were too nice, I actually felt ashamed I wasn't as good as you. Even when I went out with Mike, I knew in my heart it was only temporary, it would never be serious, I bet you didn't even notice how quickly I got over my break up with guys then, did you?"

"No." Leonard just looked at her, trying to take in everything she was saying.

Penny gave him a small smile as she looked up into his eyes, "Because you had my heart, not them. It isn't hard to leave a guy when your heart belongs to someone else, remember how I always said 'The heart wants what the Heart wants."

Leonard nodded, "Yes."

"My heart always wanted you."

Leonard looked at her seriously, "Why Penny, why are you telling me this now?"

Penny smiled at him, a smile full of love, "I wanted you to know, no matter what happens, that you are always the one for me, since the day we met. I'm sorry it was a rough road and I was the main reason it was that way, but Honey, always know that I am incredibly happy with you and I love you with all my heart." Penny then moved her face to his and started kissing him.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Bernadette was practically laying on Howard, it had been that way with her since the first night they found the machine, she would hold on to him every night. Bernadette was a very smart woman, however Howard knew she was really upset because her acting like this, holding him all night, like it would some how mean he would be still there in the morning, was something he knew she knew wasn't possible. Penny was the worse, she would start could start crying at any time, but now it was effecting Bernadette, she was getting emotional every time Penny did. At first she would try to comfort Penny, with Leonard, but now that had deteriorated to the point when Penny cried, Bernadette ran to Howard for comfort.

Howard, like Leonard was upset too, but at least they were trying to do something, which allowed them to keep sane. Knowing that your life could change, the life you loved, at any moment, and you wouldn't even know it, was enough to drive anyone insane if they thought about it too long. The slight movement of his wife made Howard look down at her, right into her open eyes and he immediately felt sorry for her, she needed her sleep.

"Howie." was all Bernadette could say as she crawled up him to bring her mouth to his and the kiss soon spiraled out of control like it had the last few nights, they slept together. Bernadette had become an animal, as she began to ravish her husband, her only goal for them to be lost in each other, her only desire was to put the thoughts about her future out of her mind long enough to keep her from going insane. She would do anything and everything to keep those thoughts from her mind for even just a little bit.

Howard just followed his wife's lead, he loved her so much, making love to her was easy, even when she was like this. Bernadette was beyond passionate and he knew what she wanted, she wanted to be loved to exhaustion, to a point where sleep could carry her away, it was her way of coping with everything in her mind. However, Bernadette's fatalistic actions were now concerning her husband, because since they had gotten married, they had used condoms for birth control, and lately Bernadette didn't see a reason to stop for one. She thought this was the end and Howard knew if he thought about it, like her, he would be swallowed in the abyss too, that Bernadette was in now with Penny.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Raj had just arrived home was taking Cheryl home, it was all he could do to let her go. She knew nothing of the time machine and nothing of the possible effects, and Raj was not going to tell her a thing, not wanting to terrify her, because he was falling in love with her. This night had been especially bad, she had to work early, so had to leave, Raj just wanting to hold her and have her there that night, the urge to tell her anything to do that was hard for him to suppress. Cheryl even noticed his discomfort, apologizing to him and promising to stay during the weekend, but that did nothing to calm him tonight. So when he heard the knock on his door, his heart leaped as he quickly went to the door hoping his girlfriend had changed her mind.

Alex looked at him when the door opened, she didn't know he would be home or even if he was alone, but she had to try. Leonard had Penny and Howard had Bernadette, Raj was the only true friend she had left. She couldn't sleep that night, the fear overwhelming her, and the thought of being alone all night drove her to Raj's door. "I'm sorry to bother you….."

Raj could see her puffy red eyes, it was obvious she was crying and pajama pants sticking from underneath her long coat along, with no makeup, made him know she just come from bed. She also looked so small and vulnerable standing outside his door, so Raj did the only thing a gentleman could do. "You are not bothering me, come in Alex." He barely closed the door and turned back to her, when he saw the tears drip down her face and her body tremble, seeing her like that broke his heart, making him instinctively walk towards her, opening his arms.

Alex rushed to him, it was all she wanted, someone to comfort her, she had been so alone, and with this fear, it was eating her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head on his shoulder, as the tears now came out unencumbered and the sobs racked her body. She didn't want to be alone, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave his place now, she would do anything for his company that night, anything.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy laid in bed, it was hard for her to sleep soundly and she kept waking up like now. She would have taken another walk outside, however, in the middle of the night that was not safe, plus she didn't know this neighborhood she was in now. The bed she was in was in Penny's guest room, her friend insisting that she now stay in their house with them. Amy didn't know if it was because Penny was worried about her or she thought if they weren't together one morning one would disappear. However, no matter which reason, she knew that Penny loved her and it made her smile she had such good friends in her life, especially now.

Amy was now ready, she come to peace with everything, and she almost welcomed the change that was to come. She knew her life wouldn't be the same without Sheldon and she sort of knew he would try to protect her, so she was ready for this new timeline, because the thought of being with him now trumped her fear of the future. It was that thought which let her sleep that night, that thought that she would soon see her 'Sweet Baboo' again.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The next morning, Leonard, Penny and Amy got ready and went early to the university, meeting Bernadette and Howard who were already there. Raj and Alex had slept soundly that night, Alex wrapped in Raj's arms, so after they woke, and he got ready, they went to her place for her to dress and joined the others in Leonard's office a little later. There wasn't much more to do, they had the information and they had the time and place, it was now what they were going to do with it.

Howard and Leonard knew Sheldon had to be stopped, no matter what Sheldon's intentions were, he was too close to an important date in world history and a mistake, with its ramifications, could change the world as they knew it. However, there was one thing that bothered Leonard, he knew Sheldon had a registered handgun, a family heirloom, and when they searched his room, it wasn't there. Leonard now wondered about Sheldon's state of mind, and knowing he was armed, made Leonard realize that him or Howard were maybe not the people who should bringing Sheldon back.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

It was the second last day, tomorrow was the mission, and Sheldon was still walking up to each parked airplane, during this long tedious day, since he had to inspect each airplane he walked to. He had convinced the Captain, who escorted him, to go in each plane and get the information off the planes identification plate while he inspected the plane. It was officially suppose to be to identify the particular plane and its condition, but in reality it was to allow Sheldon to be alone with the plane for a few minutes, unseen. This had gone on all day and now that it was past supper he only had 10 planes left, he just knew one had to be 'Happy Jack'.

It was the third last plane and Sheldon sighed in relief, looking at the Captain and nodding as the man went to the boarding ladder, to go inside the airplane and get the data off the identification plate. Sheldon then looked around, happy to see no one else near by, the enlisted men still keeping away from the officers as they had done all day. Sheldon walked up to the first engine nacelle, then pulled the first small bomb from his pocket, carefully pulling the protective strip off the adhesive and promptly dropping it. It fell sticking to the tarmac, and Sheldon actually swore, as he pulled it up, quickly sticking it in the radial engine nacelle next to one of the cylinders, happy the adhesive would take a hour to cure. He was much more careful with the other three, as she pulled their strips and quickly placing them in the nacelle, each one near a cylinder of each engine. He then put the protective strips in his pocket and walked to the boarding ladder before the Captain came down, the smile on his face barely suppressed. He had did it, there was no stopping his plan now.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 - Flight into Danger**

The morning of May 27, 1944, the airfield was covered in the noise of B-17 bombers, their four engines multiplied by every bomber going on the mission, the sound reverberating through the English predawn morning. Major Frank Lewis read off the instrument readings and control system settings, while his co-pilot Lieutenant Arthur Gray checked them off the preflight checklist, it was a routine they had been doing for months now, a precursor to every flight. Lewis was a flight leader, on this mission today, and his plane was lead aircraft in his flight, hopefully the crew thought it was going to safely lead all the planes on a successful bombing run and back home that day.

Directly behind the pilots, running through his top turret check was Sergeant Anthony (Tony) Trabuco, a New York City boy from the part they called Little Italy, he was also the flight engineer. In the nose checking out the bomb sight was Captain Carl Speer, a third generation American of German descent. The navigator, Lieutenant Sam Jensen went over his maps, while the radio operator, Sergeant Marty Siberski went through his radio check out procedures and noted the code signals for the day. The rest of crew consisted of gunners, the two waist gunners, Sergeant Tommy Hall and Sergeant Jimmy Thornton, and the under belly ball turret manned by Sergeant Larry Creech, Finally, rounding out the crew, in the back of the plane, was the tail gun manned by Sergeant John Smith, who never seemed tire from people not believing that John Smith was his real name.

The ten men did their preflight checklists for another mission over Germany, a mission every airman, on every aircraft, that day, hoped to come back from. It was just a little bit later that the B-17 nicknamed 'Happy Jack' lifted up from the airbase in England, to form up with its flight, and that began the plane's crew's long flight to their target. As the plane settled into its best cruise configuration for the flight, its crew went through their in-flight checklists and all other normal flight routines, unknown to them, there were four small bombs, one in each of their engine nacelles and their timers were counting down to activation.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon had gotten up early that day to head to the flight line and watch the planes take off, his nervousness not allowing him to sleep hardly at all the night before. He was surprised when another officer saw him walking around the flight line fence, and was offered a chance to go to the control tower to watch the early morning takeoff. Sheldon had stood quietly off to the side, holding the binoculars a Lieutenant gave him to help him watch the aircraft take-off, trying to keep an unsettling feeling in his gut at bay, the whole time he observed the operation. He remembered how he felt when he saw the 'Happy Jack' lift off, then looked at his pocket watch and noted the time would be perfect for their return to base from the target, when detonation of the bombs would occur. It was after the last plane left, Sheldon actually felt relieved and he made sure to thank all the officers in the control tower for their allowing him to be there, before he left and began his walk to the chow hall to eat breakfast.

Sheldon thought about just what happened that morning, as he walked, and found no joy in what he had done, he even momentarily having a couple regrets, but they didn't last long. Because although he didn't feel joy, there was still the satisfaction that Raymond Lewis was getting what he deserved. Lewis had violated every ethic of being a Scientist, he had stole someone else's work and then falsely presented it as his own. The time that Sheldon came from was never going to punish Lewis, so Sheldon thought it was his duty to punish him and it wasn't really his fault his family suffered too. Raymond Lewis was responsible for everything that was happening as far as Sheldon was concerned. Suddenly with that thought, for the first time since arriving there, Sheldon was actually very hungry, he thought he could even eat Army food, today.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The flight into the target was intense, German fighters attacking them just outside the target area, only their fighter escort able to drive most of the German fighters off. Then there was the flack, air-burst artillery shells made to explode around their aircraft to spread killing shrapnel. The flack was now all around them, as they approached the bomb release point, and as the plane bounced around in the disturbed air of explosions, the small bomb Sheldon put in the first engine nacelle broke loose. When Sheldon dropped it, the adhesive strip became contaminated with debris from the tarmac and now with its bonding compromised by the debris, it failed to hold, soon being thrown from the engine nacelle of engine 1, never to be seen again.

'Happy Jack' was the lead bomber for the flight, which consisted of twelve B-17s arranged in a 'Combat Box', so when Captain Spear ordered bombs away, eleven other aircraft released their bombs with 'Happy Jack'. Captain Speer was an American, and he knew a few people in the wing didn't like the idea of a officer named Spear fighting Germans with them, so Speer worked harder than any other officer to do well and prove himself every day. The bombs from 'Happy Jack's' flight all hit their target that day, making the mission a success and so the planes from the flight made the turn to go home, along with all the other bombers in the formation that day.

It was just when they were about to leave the target area, and its flack, that the three remaining bombs went off in 'Happy Jacks' engine nacelles and their effect was quick. Each bomb, at the set time, energized the solenoid which caused a small plunger to shoot forward, detonating the primer on each of the huge 45 caliber cartridges that was very close to an engine cylinder. The resulting small explosions, unseen from the aircraft cockpit, was damaging to each cylinder and each began to leak oil, the lifeblood of any engine. The number 2 and 3 inboard engines were the worse, each having the top of the cylinder blown off, oil pouring out of them as smoke poured out of each nacelle. The other outboard engine, engine 4, was a different story, an ammo manufacturer, in the future, that made the 45 caliber shell Sheldon used, did not quality inspect every round, so the round that exploded, did not have the energy the others had. The result was very little damage, the explosion only producing a small crack in the cylinder wall that only allowed a very fine oil leak occur, not enough to prevent the engine from making it back to England.

Major Lewis now flew out of the flack with an aircraft having three smoking engines, with the oil pressure dropping quickly in two of them. The crew believing they were unlucky and they were hit by flack, not by bombs planted by a man from the future. Lieutenant Gray summed up their situation that day perfectly in three words. "Shit….We're screwed."

'Happy Jack', on only two good engines, was now slow, much slower than the rest of the formation, so the aircraft slowly fell behind the group, and lost altitude. If being alone, away from the concentrated gun fire of the group, wasn't bad enough, the three smoking engines signaled every German fighter where they where. They wouldn't have lasted very long if it wasn't the fighters that stayed with them as long as they could, and the fighter combat going around their bomber was something the bomber crew would tell their grandchildren about, if they survived.

The fighters drove the Germans off, but they had used all their spare fuel and had to leave, so it wasn't long before the 'Happy Jack' was alone trying to limp home, luck now their only hope. It was less than a half hour later that 'Happy Jacks' luck ran out, when four German fighters found the stricken plane. "Fighters at one o'clock" Tony yelled over the intercom from the top turret. All gunners and turrets immediately turning that way.

The first German fighter came in fast, diving from above, a few rounds hitting the bomber, but doing little damage, however Tony's top turret and the waist gun manned by Jimmy scoring direct hits on the German and the fighter flew off, smoke now trailing behind it. The second fighter came from underneath, Larry, in the under belly ball turret, quickly picking it up, however this pilot was better and his rounds hit the B-17, the men hearing a sharp grunt on the intercom and a soft 'Help Me' before there was silence. Lewis immediately asked for a crew check, which everyone answered except the navigator, who Sergeant Siberski went to check on and determined was dead, a hole through the middle of his chest. The crew went silent for a second, but only a second as the third German fighter began his attack. "He's coming from my side, left waist." was all Tommy got out before his finger mashed on the trigger, the 50 caliber heavy aircraft machine gun firing at almost 500 rounds a minute.

The German plane hit them hard, a round going through the cockpit hitting the head rest of Gray's seat, the co-pilot's seat sending splinters against his head. Lewis looked at his co-pilot, slumped in his seat, blood covering his face. "Marty, Arts hit, get up here." Lewis yelled.

Sergeant Siberski seemed to take forever, but only a couple seconds later he was next to Lieutenant Gray with a medical kit. "He is still alive, Major, but he is really out. I bandage him, but I don't think he is going to do much the rest of the flight."

Lewis nodded, "Okay Marty do what you can."

The fourth German came diving from the side that Jimmy was on, his gun fire deadlier than the third. He strafed the B-17 with accurate fire, but as he passed underneath, Larry's turret guns had him in the sights, the twin 50 caliber guns poured rounds into the small fighter. The fighter blew up in a huge fireball. "I got him, I got the bastard." Larry yelled.

"Calm down Larry, stay alert, there are two more." Tony told him from the top turret.

Lewis was now having a little trouble with the plane, the last fighter must have damaged his control surfaces, he just knew it, and the plane was now slow to respond. However he didn't have much time to think about it, "They are coming around, One o'clock again and it is both of them." Tony yelled, the two fast fighters bearing down on the damaged the B-17. They weren't going to survive this and as Lewis thought that he saw the cloud bank just off to the left of his flight path. The B-17 banking towards the clouds, Lewis manhandling the controls to get the large aircraft to turn, he just wondered if he and the plane would be fast enough.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 - Trying to Survive**

The German fighters climbed higher, to allow for more dive speed when they attacked the bomber, high speed making it harder for the bomber gunners to track them. The fighters then banked over, when they got high enough, to start their dive to the bomber, but as they drove towards their target, the B-17 disappeared into the cloud formation. Now they had no target, so the fighters circled around above the clouds for over 20 minutes watching for the American bomber. However, what saved the bomber, was the small fighters carried a lot less fuel than a bomber, and as their fuel became low, the German fighters gave up and headed back to their base, Happy Jack had survived the encounter.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

In the cloud bank, the bomber was barely flying, it had two engines out completely and it was a miracle that Lewis got their propellers into feather position before they had seized up. Another engine was running at less than full power and it was smoking slightly, showing everyone on the ground and in the air where they were. The other working engine was actually mostly powering the aircraft, and Lewis said a little prayer to the men and women at Curtis-Wright who built them. However he had another problem, the last attack had also damaged all his navigation gear and his navigator was dead, so after flying around in the clouds for almost thirty minutes hoping the fighters would have to leave by then, he had no idea which way was home. They were a mess and because of lack of power and need to try and hide, he finally come down out of the clouds and was flying below them at 8000 feet, so he had no sun or star reference. Captain Spears got out the ground maps and tried to determine where they were, hopefully he would and Lewis could fly the plane by a ground map, but right now they were definitely lost in big trouble.

Their casualty were also another problem, Gray was still out and couldn't parachute from the aircraft so thoughts of getting him out of the aircraft and trying to get home by land where out. Add that to their plane was now a death trap with its low speed and smoking engine, everyone in the Happy Jack was in a difficult situation. Lewis looked at Gray and made his decision. "Captain to crew, prepare for bailing out."

Both Speers and Siberski both knew what that meant, both had checked the co-pilot and knew Gray couldn't jump, they also knew Lewis well enough to know he would not leave Gray and the aircraft. "Major, I am staying with you." Speers answered back, it was a second later Siberski joined him, "I'm staying with you sir, too." The rest of the crew had an idea what was happening now and each one of them told Lewis they were staying with the airplane. Lewis wanted to order them to leave, but they were all good men and knew what they were doing, so he didn't say a thing, silently thanking them.

It was a few minutes later that the lumbering bomber lost its cloud cover completely and only a couple more when a new group of German fighters appeared. The first set of four attacked the bomber and hit it hard, first coming in from the front of the bomber, both Carl, at the nose gun, and Tony, in the top turret, firing at the attacking fighters. Tony was unlucky, a fighter round hitting him in the shoulder and breaking it, now leaving the front of the aircraft only protected by Captain Speer's gun. The fighters then came in from the side, Jimmy getting hit in the leg, while Larry's guns in the ball turret went silent, Larry wouldn't be coming home alive that day. The bomber didn't have much time, Major Lewis knew, it couldn't take much more and the crew was being killed the longer they kept flying. Lewis knew there was only one way any of them were going to survive, he had to get the rest of them out of the bomber, while he tried to get away with the wounded.

Siberski bandaged up Tony in the top turret, while Tommy tighten the bandage around Jimmy's leg, as tight as it would go, and it stopped most of the blood flow. Jimmy wasn't going to be doing any more fighting, so that left Tommy alone manning the waist guns, he was going try to move between them, to fire at German aircraft when they came from the right or left, it was really impossible. As he now looked out the waist window, he saw one of the fighters turning on them, coming in from the left side, Tommy was scared, he knew the plane and crew couldn't take much more and he wondered how it would feel to die. He hoped it was quick, the thought of falling from the sky and dying in this airplane when it crashed was terrifying to him. He looked at his friend laying there, the man couldn't jump from the plane now and Tommy knew he could never leave him.

Tommy turned his attention back to the German Plane as it approached, his gun and its guns would be in range at the same time, the problem was he just had the one 50 caliber gun, the plane had four heavy guns. Tommy estimated the range by the size of the target and started to put pressure on his guns trigger, then everything changed, where there was a German plane, there was now a tremendous explosion, the plane completely blown up in the air. Tommy was stunned as he looked at his gun, he never fired, so what caused the plane to explode his mind tried to understand, then he saw the flash. Something very fast had passed by their bomber, so fast he couldn't tell what it was, all he saw was colors, red, white and blue.

Tony was still in the top turret, he had seen the German blow up too and he had seen the flashes in the sky, there where actually two of them. Even though he was too wounded to operate his guns he could still watch the show above him from his turret. He saw another German fighter turn and blow up like the first, then a third, and as he watched the flashes and explosions, he estimated at least 5 additional German aircraft had met similar fates as the first three, before the sky above him, suddenly seemed clear of German aircraft. A sudden peace fell over their bomber as it now traveled unmolested in the sky, the only noise, the droning of the engines as the plane continued through now calm sky.

It was Tommy who first saw the plane, as it slowly pulled along side their bomber at about two thousand feet out. Even at that distance he had never seen anything like it, it was big, the size of a medium bomber, but it was definitely not a bomber. It scared the hell out of him, and he put his gun sights on the intruder, afraid this new aircraft was some German secret weapon. However, as Tommy watched, the plane banked to come closer to them and Tommy saw the whole top of the aircraft. He thought he was dreaming, the whole top of the aircraft was painted like an American Flag, it was one of ours, and Tommy cried.

Tony saw them both, there was one on each side of the bomber, he also saw the American Flags painted on top of them. They were amazing, they had no propellers, and they looked fast, really fast, these had to be the flashes they saw, the flashes that destroyed the German Aircraft, they were beautiful. He watched as they closed until they were only a hundred feet from them, there were men inside, with helmets and oxygen masks, they looked like spacemen from the old Julies Verne books he read as a kid. He also noticed the planes had their landing gear down and landing flaps out, they were obviously trying to fly slow to stay with their bomber.

US Air Force F-15 pilot Major Steve Green looked at the bomber in disbelief, thinking 'how was it still flying'. He had read books about the condition aviators brought planes back home in World War II, but seeing it was incredible. He shook his head, because he had work to do, so he tuned the special radio in his plane, to the frequencies they used in World War II. "Eagle One to US Army Air Corp B-17 Bomber, 'Happy Jack', over."

Major Lewis had not seen the plane till it had moved up right next to them, he was so engrossed in keeping his plane flying. But now he was trying to keep his mind on flying the big bomber, while staring out his window at the incredible aircraft next to him, the radio call shocking the hell out of him. "Um…..Say again, over."

Major Green was happy the radios worked, "Eagle One to US Army Air Corp B-17 Bomber, 'Happy Jack'. This is United States Air Force F-15, call sign 'Eagle One'. We are here to escort you home, Major Lewis. Over."

Lewis almost lost it, they knew his name, who where these people, where did these planes come from, they looked like something from the future. He had never seen anything like them on any Army Air Corp airfield. "Who are you? Over."

"Friends, Major Lewis and fellow United States airman. Our only job is to get you home, we are here for you, to make sure you and your crew get home safely. And I promise we will die to accomplish that sir, you have my word as a fellow aviator. Over."

Lewis just stared out the side window in shock, he never believed much in religion, but were these angels? At this moment, that was the only explanation that made sense. "Okay Eagle One, what do you want me to do? Over" Lewis was beyond confused right now.

"Well first sir, we want you to turn around, you are going the wrong way and heading into Germany. Over."

"Oh, my navigation system is shot, I didn't know. Over."

"Yes sir we know, that is one of the reasons we came, to get you turned around then home safely. Over."

"How did you know? Over." Lewis was now really more confused.

"Sir, it not something I can explain, but I promise you we will get you home. Over."

Lewis looked at the planes again, they were definitely angels. "Okay Eagle One, I'll follow you. Over."

The F-15s made a gradual 180 degree turn followed by the crippled bomber, aligning on a direct path back to England and the bombers home base. The fighters Inertial Navigation Systems were updated just before being transported to the past, so their navigation systems were self contained and accurate enough for the job. The rest of the flight turned out to be uneventful, the remaining time back to the bombers home, as the bomber finally crossed the English Channel to England, and came to be only minutes from it base.

As Major Green's navigation system told him how close they were to the bomber's base, he now knew his job was done. "Eagle One to Happy Jack. Over." 

Lewis looked at the plane, "Go ahead Eagle One. Over."

"Are you in good enough shape to make it back to your airfield. Over."

Lewis looked at the two planes again, they were leaving, his angels were leaving. "Yes, Eagle One, I should be fine getting home now…..I don't know how to thank you. Over."

"Just doing our job sir. Good luck Major Lewis. Just remember sir, we were never here. Over." The two fighters pulled up so Lewis could now see both pilots, one on each side. As he looked he saw both pilots salute, Lewis swallowed, then sat tall in his seat and saluted them back. "God's speed gentlemen and tell the archangel thank you, Happy Jack, Over and out." Lewis then watched the pilots drop their salute and their planes pull ahead, the landing gear coming up and the landing flaps retracting, they were beautiful aircraft, they looked like they owned the sky. Once they pulled a little ahead the moved off right and left until they were 1000 feet ahead and to the side, then Lewis saw their engines glow as they accelerated away at unbelievable speed then shot up through the clouds and disappeared. Major Lewis just shook his head, did he just dream it all, no one would believe what happened to them, he really didn't believe it himself. However, he put it into the back of his mind as he saw the airfield ahead in the distance, he had an aircraft to land. "Happy Jack to tower, requesting permission to land. Over."

"Happy Jack! Good to hear from you, you are cleared for a direct landing approach. Welcome Home. Over."

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon had taken a walk outside the airbase after his breakfast and after he had gotten any modern item left in his room. The rest of the stuff he just left since it was from the right time period, he didn't need it anymore, he didn't plan on coming back there after he left. He had noticed a hill near the approach end of the runway, outside the airbase, while he was in the control tower that morning, so as soon as he was out the gate he began his hike to the top of it. It took him almost two hours to get there, but Sheldon was in no hurry he still had several hours to wait and it was much later, around dinner time, when he saw the first airplane come back to land.

Sheldon watched from the field as the bomber landed, the first of many to follow as Sheldon, from his vantage point could see the nose art and tail numbers on each one. He became more and more relaxed as the planes landed, none of the being the 'Happy Jack', and after the last touched down relief spread through Sheldon's body. However, Sheldon still couldn't go home just yet, because ever the one for details, he could not leave until his calculations on fuel availability confirmed the 'Happy Jack' could not be flying anymore. So Sheldon waited while looking at his watch, counting down the minutes before the fuel tanks on the bomber would be empty and his task was done.

He only had a half hour left on his watch, till his time to leave, when he heard the bomber, all the relief that had previously filled his body, dissolving as the bomber came into sight. His worse fears were realized, when on approach, Sheldon could see 'Happy Jack's' nose art and as the bomber passed the hill to land, the tail numbers left no further doubt. He just couldn't believe it, his plan should have worked, and the sudden thought that he was now going to have to do it all again, made him curse out loud, "Dam it, what went wrong?"

"Nothing, we just made sure they got home safe." The voice completely surprised Sheldon and he turned quickly to see a man in modern military camouflage standing just 15 feet behind him. The man was covered from head to toe, and with his hat and face screening he blended perfectly with the surrounding foliage making Sheldon nervously wonder how long he actually been there watching him. However Sheldon's shock was far from over, because as the man removed his hat and face screening, Sheldon saw his face, it gave him another shock that went through his whole system, the man that had said those words and was now looking at him was LEONARD!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 - Prisoner**

Sheldon gaped at his old friend in surprise. "What….How…..Leonard?"

"We found your notes, your diary and the machine."

"I hid the machine."

"Penny found it."

"It figures, the least intelligent solves the puzzle." Sheldon shook his head, now calming a little.

Leonard forced himself not to walk up and hit Sheldon, as he thought of how Penny looked when he last saw her, it had broken his heart to see her like that. Even thought he didn't have Sheldon's eidetic memory the expression on Penny's face, when he left, would always be in his mind, her eyes telling him she thought she would never see him again. Leonard was truly a little scared on what he find when they went back and he had to force back his fears as he looked at the person who was the cause of this all.

Leonard reminded himself that arguing with Sheldon was always a useless endeavor, the man just could not understand that he could be wrong and someone else could be right, like now. So Leonard resigned himself to getting this over with and concentrating on the job at hand, getting Sheldon back to the right place in time. He also forced himself not to get upset, by telling himself it didn't matter, calming himself so he could speak to Sheldon again. "Sheldon, we need to go back to our time now."

"Leonard I am not leaving with you." Sheldon then shook his head and pulled a revolver from the waistband of his pants, that he had been hidden under his jacket. He didn't point it at Leonard but it was in his hand and the intent of it, in his hand, was there for Leonard to see.

Now it was Leonard's turn to shake his head, a small sad expression on his face. "Sheldon, you're right, I can't make you come back, but that is not why I'm here. They want you back either dead or alive, I actually came to talk to you and try to make that alive."

Sheldon then noticed the two laser dots on his chest and as he looked back at Leonard for an explanation, he then saw the two modern special forces soldiers lift up from the field behind Leonard and move to stand on each side of him. They had automatic weapons and Sheldon knew if he moved the wrong way he was dead, it was CHECKMATE. Sheldon then looked back at Leonard who just nodded his head making Sheldon know he was coming back, whether he wanted to or not.

"Sheldon just open your hand and drop the gun. These men will kill you, if you resist." Leonard simply told him.

Sheldon just stood there his eyes moving from the Leonard to the soldiers, as he still held the gun. He tried to weigh his options, but every scenario he thought of ended with him dead. He didn't know if he should hate Leonard right now or thank him for coming to make sure he wasn't killed, as he continued to stare at him.

Sheldon's lack of movement made Leonard worried. "Please Sheldon, this isn't the time to die..….and Amy is waiting and wants to talk to you."

Sheldon's eyes flashed and the thought of Amy made him tremble, then he regained his composure, nodded and let the gun slip from his fingers. The soldiers quickly moved up, retrieved the gun then put Sheldon's arms behind his back and handcuffed him. They also took Sheldon's marker to prevent him from trying to escape, Sheldon didn't resist, but stood there calmly, looking at Leonard the whole time.

Leonard frowned, "Is that necessary?"

The lead soldier, an officer looked at Leonard and slowly nodded. "Orders sir. We disobeyed them, for you Dr Hofstadter, when you asked us to hold fire until you gave him a chance to surrender, but we need to do this now. Also sir, like you promised, when we debrief, we fully obeyed our orders and if anyone asks, it was easier to capture him."

Leonard nodded, "Thanks Captain, I understand and I will keep my promise. Just don't hurt him." The Captain looked at Leonard for a second then nodded.

The four of them then began their hike, back to the clearing where they arrived, Leonard didn't know if the location was important for getting back, but he decided to take no chances, they would leave from the spot they arrived. They walked for the first half hour in silence, Leonard walking next to Sheldon, while one soldier scouted the way ahead and the other followed behind, Leonard knew that man behind them would not allow Sheldon to escape. "Now the Government knows." Sheldon's words surprised Leonard and they were a statement not a question.

"Yes Sheldon, I told the Government, it was the only way to get to you to come back. Howard and me were obviously not going to stop you." Leonard spit out as he thought of the gun.

"They will not know how to use it and they will make mistakes. You probably have done more damage than I would have done." He was lecturing Leonard again and the smugness in his voice irritated him, Leonard was tired of his arrogance and his lack of concern about what he had done.

"Really, you tried to change time a few days before a significant point in history and I probably did more damage. Howard was right, you really are a stupid bastard." Leonard spit out.

Sheldon looked down at Leonard in shock, Leonard's confidence and condescending tone towards him was unnerving. "I fail to see where using foul language proves your point. Lewis was not significant in time."

"Yeah you are right." Leonard admitted, but before Sheldon could say 'of course I'm right', Leonard continued, putting him in his place. "But did you check on the rest of the men in that plane? Did you know 9 of the 10 survived World War II and did you know one of them did have a significant contribution to history."

Sheldon just looked at Leonard, "No"

"Of course not." and both of them went quiet again as they walked

Leonard and Sheldon walked for the next three hours back to the spot that they arrived at, while the two special forces soldiers watched Sheldon. No matter what they agreed to with Dr Hofstadter, the Captain was going to shoot Dr Cooper dead and take his body back if he tried to escape. The men were deadly serious and kept their eyes on the surrounding terrain and their two charges the whole way back.

It was as they finally got close to the spot Sheldon spoke again, "What did I miss."

"You didn't check out his co-pilot Lieutenant Gray did you?" Leonard responded in a tone that told Sheldon he had made a big mistake.

Sheldon didn't make mistakes so knowing he did and Leonard's tone grated on him, "No I didn't." he snapped.

"Well, Lieutenant Gray makes it through WW II and has a son, who joins the Air Force to be a flyer like his father. Captain Simon Gray flies reconnaissance jets during the Cuban Missile Crises and is the man, who by his bravery, gets the first positive photographic evidence that Russian ballistic missiles are being put in Cuba, which leads to what happened in history next, the blockade. Killing Gray kills his son and the Air Force determined that there is a 50/50 chance that the late discovery of the missiles would make Russia more reluctant to take them out, thereby leading to a nuclear exchange between them and the United States." Leonard explained then looked at Sheldon to make sure in sank in, what he almost done.

Sheldon just stared at Leonard, he had been really wrong so he quickly changed the subject, to avoid admitting it. "So the Government now has and controls the time machine."

Leonard shook his head, as Sheldon changed to subject "You really are something, you know that." Then he forced himself to be calm again. "Yes they have it, they used it to send planes back into this past to make sure that bomber got home, once they found out what could happen in the future by your stunt."

"It was not a stunt!" Sheldon said in anger.

"Really." Leonard said in disgust. "You know you have already changed history, yet Lewis is still alive, you already did damage and you don't really care do you!"

"Of course I do." Sheldon said not really meaning it. "As a scientist I care about all my experiments."

Leonard shook his head again. "Yeah, right." Then he looked Sheldon directly in the eye. "You know your changes may have done away with Amy. Did you ever think about that, Mr. Scientist."

Sheldon stared at Leonard in shock, the realization of what he was saying making Sheldon turn cold inside. He turned then to looked ahead as he walked, trying to think things through, never saying another word till they got to the spot. Leonard actually welcomed the silence as he walked, his mind going to his wife and baby, he said a silent prayer they would still be there when he got back.

Once they reached the clearing, the Captain spoke again, to Leonard. "Sir I am to verify you both leave, so you two will go first and we will follow."

Leonard nodded and brought Sheldon to the side with him, taking a marker out of his pocket to activate it. The trip home was the same as the trip there, but it seemed faster, because it was now not new to either of them. It was with relieve though when they arrived, however Sheldon and Leonard were deposited back in the room Sheldon left from, not surprising him but shocking Leonard. "Something's wrong." Leonard said, disbelief on his face.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 - Nightmare **

"What do you mean, we are back and it is just the way I left it, it probably has been only a few minutes since I left." Sheldon said while looking around.

"Sheldon, I didn't leave from here, we moved all your equipment and it was in a military hanger, surrounded by military personnel when I left. That is the only way we could send the airplanes back. They had to be at full power when they arrived to be able to fly and the plan was when they brought them back, they would have their landing gear down and roll off the pad on arrival, out the open hanger doors, then brake to a stop. We were at Edwards AFB, not here and we left a month and a half after you."

"Oh" Sheldon thought for a minute, "Then it is logical that something has changed for you, but maybe not me."

"What do you mean?" Leonard hated that Sheldon didn't explain himself most of the time after he said something important.

"Well, what you did might have put everything back the way it was, so I am back were I started and you didn't need to come back for me…..oh no." A worried expression came over Sheldon's face.

"Oh No? Sheldon what do you mean by Oh No?" Leonard was now getting aggravated.

"If you didn't come back you are still here. It would be a time paradox." Sheldon explained

"What the hell Sheldon!" Leonard wanted to ring Sheldon's neck.

"There could now be two of you here, Leonard. We will need to determine what is happening, no one knows what will happen if you meet yourself in time." Sheldon stated.

"Stop the machine, we can't let those soldiers come back, if they are already here." Leonard told him, while pulling a key out of his pocket to quickly take the handcuffs off him. "This won't activate on it's own, will it." Leonard now looked at the field generators with a little worry.

"No not with you in there, the pad has to be clear." Sheldon then looked at him, "You had a key?"

"Howard saw the soldiers pack handcuffs, so he gave me this key, he said it was a magician's key to get out of handcuffs, he said it was just in case." Leonard explained.

Sheldon nodded, then went to the computer, bringing up and then turning off the return program. After finishing this task Sheldon then stood there a minute thinking, "Let me look at the computer history, maybe it would tell us something." He pulled out a seat and sat down at the computer terminal to begin running the history program. After a few minutes he turned, a puzzled expression on his face. "Well Leonard the good news is that we are not here."

"We?" Leonard asked in confusion as he approached Sheldon.

"Yes we. The bad news is it seems that we went back to prehistoric times to look at dinosaurs and we were due back an hour ago."

Leonard swallowed, "We are late from looking at dinosaurs, that can't be good. Can you look for markers without automatically bringing anyone back?"

Sheldon nodded and started typing again and after a minute looked back at Leonard. "There is a problem, our other selves markers do not show up. The only markers I'm getting are the ones from the two soldiers that were with you."

Leonard sat at the chair next to Sheldon, this was so overwhelming he didn't know where to start. "We can't bring the soldiers back, Sheldon, until we know what happened, and we can't leave them there, it could screw the past up more."

Sheldon nodded, "I agree, they could change the time line again."

Leonard looked at Sheldon, contempt only in his mind as he thought, 'Now you are worried about the time line, after damage is already done'. Leonard put his head in his hands, he was tired and he so hated Sheldon right now, "I talked to them, neither was married or had a family."

Sheldon nodded, "The future it is."

Leonard hated himself, but Sheldon was right, they had to go somewhere where they couldn't change history, so Leonard nodded, "They will probably hide out there and they still have their marker, so maybe we could still bring them back later."

Sheldon agreed, it took only a few minutes, but when he finished, the two soldiers were sent 100 years into the future. Leonard felt bad when they flashed momentarily on the pad, surprise in their eyes, but he tried to rationalize, in the worse case, at least they could still have a life and they left no one behind to miss. They couldn't come back to this time until Leonard and Sheldon made sure they didn't meet themselves and they couldn't stay in the past, they had no other choice, other than kill them and Leonard would never do that.

"Sheldon what about the other us? Do you have any other ideas?" Leonard asked.

"I don't know." Sheldon sat for a minute thinking, "We could have been both traveling at the same time and combined or there may be two sets of us and one set is looking at dinosaurs. But without the markers our other selves in that time can't come back." Sheldon gave Leonard his best guess, which he thought was probably better than anyone else could come up with, even Leonard.

Leonard now wondered about Penny and his baby again, "Sheldon we have to find out what happened and decide what to do, so I suggest we look around as see if we fit in here, and see how close it is to our past timeline." Leonard wanted to search for Penny.

Sheldon couldn't think of anything better, so he just agreed, "Okay." The other thought going through Sheldon's mind, he needed to find out about Amy.

Leonard nodded, he was full of dread about all that had happened already, but hoped maybe, just maybe not much changed, like Sheldon said, maybe it would be close enough to seem the same, after all for all they knew their colleagues could still be here at least. But even more importantly, he just had to find Penny. "Okay, Let's take a look." Then Leonard looked at Sheldon, in his World War II uniform, then back at himself in a modern camouflaged field uniform. "I think we have another problem."

"Maybe not. I saw some clothes hanging in the corner." Sheldon pointed to the corner and sure enough their was a coat rack with suits on it. He walked over and looked at them. "There are two suits here and they seem to be our sizes." Sheldon now held up one of the neatly folded suits that looked in his size.

Leonard looked down again at the uniform he was wearing, he definitely looked out of place. "We should change then, we can't go out looking like we do." Sheldon nodded.

The clothes fit perfectly and were actually quite nice, Sheldon looked at Leonard, "Our other selves must have changed into other clothes before they left."

Leonard nodded, "I guess, suits are probably not the best wardrobe to go see dinosaurs in." Leonard then sighed, they were wasting time, he needed to find out about Penny and his baby.

As Sheldon got dressed, finally putting the suit jacket on, he felt something in the pocket. On pulling it out he saw it was a wedding ring. "Leonard, there is a wedding ring it the pocket of this suit."

Leonard immediately felt for a ring in his suit, and found none, a sad feeling immediately overcoming him. Leonard had left his ring with Penny before he left and now not having it made him scared. "Sheldon put it on, just in case." Sheldon didn't want to, but he did it anyway, Leonard was right again, it was a good idea and Sheldon was a little bit concerned how much Leonard was right lately.

Sheldon and Leonard left the room and walked up the stairs, from the basement, to the corridor of the university, everything seemed the same, which was a little comforting. They decided to go to Sheldon's office first, because it was the closest, if it was in the same place, as before. They were going down the final hall, where Sheldon's office was located when coming down the opposite end they saw Penny walking directly towards them from the opposite direction.

Leonard's heart seemed to want to jump from his chest as small smile formed on his lips immediately upon seeing her, relief started to fill his body as he now knew she was okay and a sudden thought coming to his mind that maybe things would be alright. However that relief quickly disappeared as Penny got closer, his smile just as suddenly turned into a frown. Penny was beautiful as always, dressed in a stunning dress, she looked gorgeous and the dress she was wearing hugged her body perfectly. However Penny also had beautiful long hair, his Penny had her hair short in a style she said was a pixie cut, it was a better hairstyle for her police job. There was another problem, the Penny he left could never wear such a beautiful dress, her baby bump was too big, this Penny was obviously not pregnant, and the emptiness Leonard suddenly now felt was overwhelming. The thought of his baby being gone, racked his mind and body, making him wonder what other hell was in store for him now. But then if things couldn't get worse, as Penny got even closer, he saw the wedding ring on her left hand, it wasn't the one he bought for her, it was much larger, almost too large, and Leonard rubbed his left ring finger, dread starting to fill his soul.

Penny looked very serious at first, looking at both of them, then staring directly at Leonard's eyes for a couple seconds, before her face formed a smile as she approached closer to them. When she was almost to them she gave Leonard another short glance and then she then walked directly up to Sheldon and hugged him. "Where have you been Sweetie, the party has already started." She then squeezed him again and to Leonard's surprise, gave him a kiss on the cheek, while Sheldon stood there wide eyed, looking at Leonard.

Leonard stood there frozen, not believing his eyes, Sheldon and Penny must be a couple in this time line, they both had on wedding rings, and suddenly another thought filled him, could they be married? Leonard's mind raced, had he lost his wife and baby with this time change, he started to feel sick. As Penny hugged Sheldon again Leonard just stared at him, seeing Sheldon give him an apologetic look, there was nothing he could do and Leonard knew it. Leonard felt sicker, like his world just fell out below him, he couldn't take it any longer, this was too much for him, so he turned and walked back the way he came, he needed to be alone to think, his mind was going crazy right now.

Penny finally let go of Sheldon and smiled at him, then looked around noticing Leonard was gone. "Where did Leonard go?" She said with a confused look as she looked back at Sheldon.

Sheldon thought fast, "He forgot something and went back, I expect he'll catch up in a little bit."

Penny seemed concerned for a couple moments and didn't move, Sheldon thought maybe she was going to go after Leonard, but then she looked back to Sheldon and put on her smile again. "Come on everybody at the party is waiting. It is not everyday you're nominated for a Nobel Prize is it." She then took his arm to lead him to the party.

Sheldon's feet felt like lead, his mind still trying to process her last words as they ran through his head 'nominated for a Nobel Prize'. Could that be actually true, did he fix things with Lewis, was this whole thing a big success for him. A small smile started to form on his lips, he seemed unable to contain it, he had fixed things like he knew he would. But then he suddenly looked down, as Penny pulled him along, was she his wife, how did that happen, why did that happen, now went through his mind. He had wanted Amy and he thought as he walked, 'What have I really done, can I fix it again?'

Leonard entered back into the room with the time machine, he didn't even remember walking back, his mind now in such a ragged state, full of too many emotions. He felt more like a zombie, not actually alive, but not dead either and once in the middle of the room he sat down in one of the chairs, to think. It felt like he was in a dream and he so badly wanted to wake up, wake up from this nightmare he felt he was in. He left the love of his life and their baby, to try and stop Sheldon from doing just this, and now she was with someone else, him, Leonard had lost everything.

This was too much for him to take, and he knew he could never adapt here, he could never live here watching his wife married to another man, even if it was the man that was his best friend. Leonard now wondered if he could even live without her, they had been together for so long, she was a part of him, and now not being with her was like a major part of him was missing. Leonard was becoming so depressed he started thinking about joining the soldiers in the future, he just wanted to run away, but he really didn't know if he could even do that. He knew he would never get them out of his mind, the loss of his wife and baby, and the more he sat and thought about it, the more upset he got.

His breathing started to get erratic and he found he was getting short of air, everything he was going through aggravating his asthma. He quickly got up and got his inhaler, from the pocket of the uniform he had worn, and sat back down as his breathing got harder and harder. He had just brought the inhaler to his mouth, its mist only moments away from relieving his breathing problems, when he stopped. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, but all Leonard could do was look at the inhaler and wonder how much it would hurt to just give up, because in his mind all he wanted to do right now was die.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 - The Party**

The unbearable need to get air, slowly disappeared and everything seemed to go into slow motion as the pain dulled. Leonard in the back of his hazy mind knew people felt like that at the end before their mind shut down from lack of oxygen, it was almost peaceful. However his peaceful end was broken when suddenly in seemed like Penny's face was in front of him. It was his Penny too, she had short hair and even though he only saw her face, he somehow knew she was pregnant, but what was disturbing was she was crying and trying to talk to him he couldn't hear her. He was trying so hard to understand her, what she was saying, he kept struggling to hear her, then suddenly her words came loud and clear to him. 'Leonard don't do this baby, don't do this to us, use your inhaler honey, please I love you, don't leave me, use your inhaler'. Leonard was having trouble thinking, he couldn't stand Penny crying and he so didn't want to leave her and if using his inhaler would somehow make her stay there, he thought, he pushed the inhaler button, once, twice, three times.

Suddenly Penny was gone, as pain came back to his lungs, he tried to scream her name, but he was choking, trying to gasp for air, and slowly while grabbing for lungs full of air, the room came back into his view. He was back in his nightmare, trying to suck in as much air as possible as the medicine in the inhaler took effect, opening his airways. Leonard sat their gasping for over 15 minutes before finally he could actually breathe a little normally again. His heart also started to slow to normal and his lungs stopped hurting so bad, and as he came back, he knew he had suffered a hallucination, his own mind tricking him to save himself. He felt he was a coward, he was a coward for trying to kill himself to escape, a coward for then not going through with it, and he put his head in his hands as the tears started to form in his eyes again.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon's mind raced as Penny led him into the one of the university areas they used as a banquet room, which was now decorated for a party. Inside there was a huge banner overhead reading 'Congratulations Dr Cooper' and other signs saying Nobel Prize winner in Physics, along with food and drinks and a large amount of people. Sheldon could barely get into the room before him and Penny were mobbed, however everyone seemed to know him well and his feelings about things, they didn't crowd him too much and they limited their touching, to his surprise. It was actually pleasant, people were honoring him and he couldn't help feeling pride that these people were finally recognizing his work and he was getting the respect he felt he deserved.

"Dr Cooper, being escorted into your Nobel Prize party by a beautiful actress. You really must be on top of the world right now and justly deserved, I must say."

Sheldon turned in surprise to Siebert's voice, surprised when he saw the man smiling at him after giving him a complement. "Thank you President Siebert, I am quite happy, I have to admit."

"Good. Like I said well deserved. Remember our meeting on your accomplishment, coming up Monday, the board would like to make you an offer concerning your continued presence here at Cal Tech." Siebert reminded him.

Sheldon was a little surprised, Siebert was gracious and extremely nice to him, something Sheldon was not use to. "Yes President Siebert I won't forget."

"Well I won't monopolize your time, because I know there are more people that want to congratulate you, so I will see you later." Then Siebert smiled at Penny. "Penelope, your presence is always welcomed, thank you for coming." Siebert then turned and left.

Penny smiled and nodded, but as soon as Siebert was gone she sighed. "I guess I should have really come around much more over the last year." She then looked up at Sheldon, a sad apologetic expression on her face. "I am really sorry I didn't."

Sheldon tensed, again not knowing exactly what to say. "Well being an actress keeps you busy, doesn't it?" Sheldon hoped he was saying the right thing.

Penny nodded, "But married to a member of the School's faculty is important too, don't you think?"

Penny looked really sad to Sheldon and he wondered why, "Well maybe you could adjust your schedule some in the future." he hoped that was a general statement that would not get him in trouble.

Penny sighed again, "You are probably right, I need to do something, I really need to support my husband." Penny then looked up at Sheldon with a weak smile and a little nod.

Sheldon immediately got scared, was he suppose to kiss her now, he had never kissed Penny, on the lips before, only Amy and he didn't think he could do it. However, she looked at him for only a second or two and then turned her face to look ahead again. Maybe she didn't kiss him in public he thought, maybe they didn't do that because it was something Sheldon didn't do. Penny as his wife would know that and would cater to his desires, wouldn't she? He really hoped that was so, he didn't want to screw up with her in public where more people would question his not standard behavior.

"Hey dumbass." Sheldon knew that voice anywhere and turned to look at Leslie trying think of a quick response back. Sheldon wasn't ready for what happened next, when he actually turned towards her.

Leslie wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed him, she was so happy for him today. "Congratulations Sheldon, you so deserved this."

Sheldon was in shock, both from being hugged and that Leslie was actually being nice to him, he didn't know what to do so went with a standard response, "Thank You."

Leslie let go of him just as quickly as she grabbed him. "Sorry Sheldon, I know you don't like surprise hugs, but I had to do it, I'm so happy for you."

Sheldon was actually a little touched, but quickly dismissed it as being too hippy-dippy, even if it was Leslie that was being happy for him. "Again thank you Leslie."

Leslie chuckled, "It is sort of nice, two friends, acting like adults, instead of me calling you 'dumbass' and you calling me 'blockhead', isn't it."

Sheldon had his second surprised, they were friends and they had nicknames for each other, things had really changed. "Yes of course, 'blockhead'."

Leslie laughed and even Penny giggled a little, Sheldon smiled a little at his own impromptu joke being taken so well. "Well I better get going, I know there are more people who want to talk to you and I get to see you every day at work and they don't." Leslie gave him a big smile and a wink. "Bye Sheldon." her sing-song voice actually sounded a little flirty, which surprised Sheldon because he didn't usually recognize things like that.

He was still thinking about that when Penny looked back up at him with a frown on her face. The frown then changed to a very stern look as she began to speak to him, "Sheldon be careful with that girl, she is the type that can ruin a marriage, you understand me." Sheldon could tell a strong warning when he heard it, and Penny was definitely warning him to stay away from Leslie. Sheldon was so not use to a girl being extremely jealous over him, especially a girl like Penny, so he just nodded to Penny's demand.

The next ten minutes several other people came to congratulate him, a couple he knew and a couple he didn't but Penny did. She saved him from embarrassing himself and with his eidetic memory once he knew their name and face he was fine. He also listened to them talk to Penny too, trying to learn more about his wife, as they spoke. It seems Penny was a successful TV star with a show currently running that everyone seemed to like. She also hadn't been around the university over the last year for a reason that seemed awkward because everyone seemed to purposely avoid it. Penny also seemed to get a little quiet whenever they got close to that reason, Sheldon hoped that reason came out soon because if it didn't and she brought it up, he was screwed.

The next person that stopped to talk to Sheldon was Kripke and like in his time Kripke knew him and Penny pretty well. Kripke had just commented how is was nice to see Penny after so long, when Sheldon thought of an idea to try and find out what was the reason for her actions over the last year. "Well Barry she has been very busy the last year." Sheldon offered, immediately sensing he said something wrong when Kripke gave him a stunned look, then quickly apologized because he had to leave for some reason.

The next minute, after Kripke left, remained very quiet, Sheldon knew he had said something very wrong and was getting more and more nervous, until Penny looked back a Sheldon, a sad look on her face and in her eyes. "Sheldon, I'm really sorry that happened, I didn't mean for it to happen, please can we not mention it?" Penny was almost in tears.

Sheldon didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but she was obviously really upset, he could even tell that, by just looking at her. Penny not wanting to talk about whatever it was that was upsetting her, was actually a relief and made Sheldon relax a little, it would also give him time to find out what it is later. Sheldon however did notice that she seemed to act like whatever happened was her fault, so Sheldon figured he was safe for a while and if she asked him about it before he found out, he could use the same excuse as her, he didn't want to talk about it. Sheldon forced himself to relax inside as he realized he was out of trouble for now, "Okay of course."

The next ten minutes was the same as the previous 10 except now Penny seemed nervous, Sheldon thinking it had to do with this thing with her that she didn't want to talk about. He just kept his answers to other people short and tried to really listen when they talked to gather as much information on this timeline and his place in it. He did notice however, that Penny kept looking around while they talked and was preoccupied, which made him wonder if it was because of her problem or her feelings toward Leslie.

It was at that point Siebert returned looking a little bit confused, "Have either of you seen my Dean of Physics? I thought for sure he would be here by now, especially with both of you here."

Sheldon was at a loss, he had no idea who the Dean was in this timeline and was beginning to start feel scared again, until Penny saved the day again. "I only saw Leonard for a minute when I got Sheldon." She then looked up at Sheldon. "Did he was when he was coming to the party?" her face was covered in concern.

Sheldon shook his head, "I'm not sure he will be coming President Siebert, he was not feeling to well, so he might not even show." He caught the surprised expression on Penny's face, with his peripheral vision as he told Siebert that.

Siebert, nodded, obviously thinking, "I understand, well it was still nice seeing you Penelope and of course Dr Copper, congratulations again. Siebert then walked away.

Penny turned to Sheldon immediately after Siebert got out of ear shot, "What is going on, you told me Leonard would be up here shortly. What did he actually tell you Sheldon, I know you two are close friends, spill it." Penny seemed extremely agitated to Sheldon concerning Leonard, which took him back and made him wonder, was she now mad at him or mad at Leonard.

Being worried about screwing up and putting some truth in his response to her made it possible for him to lie better. "I'm not really sure he is coming up Penny, I just told you what I think was going to happen before. He is not feeling well."

Sheldon watched Penny's face turn from anger to concern, as she continued to look at him, "You should have been more honest with me Sweetie, he has been….sick a lot the last year and…you just should have been more honest." All Sheldon thought of doing was to nod in agreement, as he wonder again what was going on. However he was surprised when Penny looked around the room again then looked at him, "Sheldon I have to go for a little bit, please excuse me." and then just started to walk away, her face having a far away look on it while she walked.

Sheldon was now more confused, why was she leaving, she was his wife she was suppose to cater to him, plus he knew Penny better than anyone else here, which was comforting at this moment, and she was actually his way out of here, plus probably his ride home. "I will see you later?" he said at her retreating back. 

Penny stopped and nodded, "Later…?" she seemed to think for a moment. "Sure Sweetie." she then continued to walk off.

Sheldon again thought it seemed weird his wife would just walk off like that after talking about Leonard, Sheldon now wondered if he made her mad, Penny was always a bit of a hot head, so maybe she was angry with him. Sheldon was mulling that over in his mind, when he suddenly felt a pair or arms circle his waist, for the second time since he got to the party, again surprising him. He quickly overcame his surprise and became angry as he thought of Leslie and what Penny said, thinking she probably watched Penny leave so thought this was okay now. He looked down at the obvious female arms surrounding his waist and turned in them to give Leslie a piece of his mind, after everything that had happened the last few minutes, he didn't want Penny to get anymore mad at him, especially over Leslie.

However, Sheldon never expected to see who he did when he turned, and his heart leaped when he looked down at the person smiling up at him. He found himself in shock and filled with happiness at the same time as he just stared at her, a smile forming on his own face to match hers. They just stood there and smiled at each other for a few minutes until Sheldon finally composed himself, knowing he had no idea his status with her was now. So he took a big breath in before he began talking, "It is good to see you Amy." He tried to sound formal addressing her but he couldn't help himself from still feeling the excitement that she was there and they knew each other, even in this timeline.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 - Married Couples**

Penny's mind was a jumble of thoughts as she moved through the corridors of Cal Tech, some basic, like she should have told Sheldon Amy was now at the party before she left. and others more complex, like what was she going to say different to Leonard if she found him. She seemed to be on autopilot as she headed to the Physics Department, her destination the Deans office, she thought maybe Leonard was there and as she got closer it dawned on her that maybe she should have thought things better through before barging in there to see him. However that thought, like other rational thoughts about Leonard soon lost out to the concern she had after Sheldon told her Leonard was sick, her worry for him made it so she wasn't thinking right anymore and could only now think about finding him. Penny knew she become useless now, way too worried about Leonard function or continue to be at the party, so she was doing the only thing she could, trying to find him.

The recent events filled her mind as she walked, it had been just over a half hour since she had seen Leonard, in the hall with Sheldon, and she had actually thought he would come to the party this time, because Sheldon was still his friend. However his not showing up should not have been a surprise to her, and she blamed on herself again for his absence, she knew he still probably didn't want to see her and that was the cause for his current actions. It had been the main reason she had not come to any university social functions the last year, because if she showed up he wouldn't, it was that way now between them and she now avoided them to give him his solitude.

She entered the department and went directly to his office walking right into the Dean's office suite and right to his door, since there was no one there to stop her, his secretary was at the party. She had planned on just walking in and confronting him, but now on thinking more about that, on her way there, she slowed her pace as she approached his door. She didn't have the right to confront him on anything anymore, she had made it difficult between them, and she couldn't blame him, for not wanting to see her, none of it was his fault, only hers. So when she got right up to his office she almost didn't go in, her shame so great, but just stood there trying to screw up the courage to open the door. It took everything she had, one big last surge of will, to turn the door knob and when she finally did, she found he wasn't there.

Penny stood there, in the dark empty office, for a minute deflated and now took out her phone, sadly hitting an APP, she had installed six months ago, to see where his cell phone was located. It was another thing she was ashamed about, he didn't know she had done it and she never told him a thing, but she convinced herself it was okay, because she worried and just wanted to know he was okay. She was pleased he didn't go home, when she saw he was still in the building and even though her APP couldn't tell her what room he was in, Penny had an idea where to look. She left the Physics Department and went down the corridor to the basement stairs, nervously hoping she would find him there, but still afraid it wouldn't do any good.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy giggled, "Honey it is good to see you too, but you just saw me this morning when you went to work. I'm sorry I was late getting here." Amy smiled then scooted up to him to try and give him a kiss.

Sheldon stood still stunned looking at Amy as he took in her words, quickly looking for his wife, at least the person he thought was his wife. Sheldon now was very confused and tried to think of a question to answer his concern about who he was actually with in this time. "Amy Farrah Fowler…." he stopped speaking when he saw her eyes go wide is surprise. His saying her name like that and avoiding her kiss obviously disturbing Amy as he watched her surprised look at him. "Did I say something wrong?" he weakly asked, not knowing what else to do.

"Why are you calling me by my maiden name, you've been calling be Dr Cooper since we got married." Amy quietly asked, so no one but him could hear. The now hurt look on her face evident even to Sheldon.

Sheldon's knees seemed weak and he thought he would faint, Amy was his wife, could that be true, and he stared at her for a moment trying to understand all that was happening. Then a sudden thought came to him as he realized something, if Amy was truly his wife, and he had won the Nobel Prize, he had done it, he got what he wanted, Amy back and she was now his wife, he wouldn't loose her again. However as that wonderful thought filled his head, he noticed she was still looking at him funny, and he knew he had to tell her something, "I'm sorry my mind is so full of stuff right now, I am actually having a hard time processing it all."

Amy's smile returned again. "I understand cuddles, what you did was amazing and this is your day, being horribly excited is only natural." She lifted her self on her tip toes to try to kiss him again.

Sheldon looked down at her, she was his wife, he had noticed with married couples that it was social convention to kiss in public and deep down inside something new stirred inside him. He had gone without her for so long, now remembering how good it actually felt to kiss her, he really wanted this so he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It felt wonderful and he felt like a thirsty man who was just given a drink, as he started to feel all the happiness that came to getting all he wanted, especially her. The extreme happiness he felt now, overcame his reserve and he leaned down further, taking his wife into his arms, deepening the kiss, the need to make her his driving all his senses. They kept like that for a little while, Sheldon forgetting where he was, until someone, Kripke, walked by and said 'Get a room' making them both break and gently laugh.

"Wow Sheldon, you kissed me like you haven't seen me in years." Amy looked at him quizzically, but still smiling.

Sheldon was feeling light headed, but really happy, so he just smiled at her. "I missed you, sometimes it seems like I haven't seen you in a long while." he noticed her face formed a bigger smile and it made him smile even bigger. However, then he looked around for Penny, he now understood her mood had something to do with Leonard, she had just greeted him in the hallway to congratulate him, Leonard and him just took it the wrong way. If Penny went to look for him, he hoped Leonard would handle things right, because knowing Leonard he was probably devastated right now.

"Sheldon is something wrong?" he looked back down at Amy and saw concern now on her face.

However all these thoughts could be wrong so he tried to make his response generic to his wife. "Penny seems to be concerned about Leonard." He hoped he was right.

Amy shook her head. "Yeah, when I talked to her earlier, she was looking for both of you. She thought you were together. She said she would take care of you until I got here." Then Amy sighed.

Sheldon nodded then looked at her, seeing something was still bothering her, "What's wrong Amy?"

Amy looked back up at him a sad smile now on her face. "I don't know how much longer they are going to last Honey. The last year has been so hard on them and Leonard is just falling apart, which is destroying her too."

Sheldon was stumped, he had no idea what the problem was, but again the reference was made about the last year, and he wasn't sure how to ask her about it without her being suspicious. So Sheldon gave her what he hoped was a knowing nod, "Penny does seem extremely distracted tonight." hoping Amy would tell him more.

Amy nodded, "Sheldon, she still loves him and has been worrying about him a lot, but you've seen how Leonard has been, after Penny broke his heart. It has been a year now and he keeps getting worse, becoming more alone and withdrawn. Penny has been crying on my shoulder so much, I think she is just getting worse and worse too, this can't go on, something has to give."

Sheldon nodded again, still in the dark about what was going on between Leonard and Penny. "Yes Leonard is very sensitive." The thing was Sheldon thought, was the Leonard Sheldon had with him was not the broken Leonard Amy was describing.

"Do you think that is where she went, to find him?" Sheldon looked at his wife. "Dr Cooper."

"Yes Honey, I would bet she is probably looking for him now." Amy sighed again, then gave his another little smile. Sheldon loved her smiles, and as he watched her he thought that he was going to like this timeline after all.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny slowly made her way through the hall in the basement until she got to the room, Leonard had taken her to before, slowly stopping to look in. She was both pleased and saddened when saw him there sitting in a chair, with his head in his hands, obviously upset. She could tell he didn't even see or hear her, so she slipped off her heels, she wanted to be shorter then him when he looked at her, she wanted to try and make him feel in control, she would do anything to get him back and with that thought she walked barefoot to him. As she approached she could see there was something wrong with him, so she stopped some feet short from him and just watched, her heart slowly breaking as she realized he was crying. The pain formed in her heart again, as she knew she had done this to him, destroyed him, it was all her fault, she had made him just a hollow version of his former self. However this was really bad, she hadn't seen him cry since that day when he brought her home, he had just got quiet after that, so now seeing him crying again only meant things were even worse, her hopes of ever getting him back dissolving before her eyes.

That night, just over a year ago, was burnt in her memory, the night she, as his wife, betrayed him, everyday of her life since then was filled of regret for that night. They had been just told their show had been renewed for two more years, everybody was ecstatic and it wasn't long until their happiness turned into an impromptu cast party that night. Everyone Penny worked with was happy and a party quickly started, drinks soon appearing making the party really take off after that, she began to drink way too much, and worse, she didn't have Leonard there to protect her. Leonard was running a very important experiment that night with Sheldon, that taken 6 months to plan and he couldn't leave his work, but she told him it was okay, she would be fine and would see would see him later that night. She never got home, she got passed out drunk and woke the next morning up in the bed of their producer, she was sicker than a dog and what made things worse, it was Leonard that found her. He had worried about her all night and went looking for her, stopping at all the people she knew, until in the late morning he came to the producers door to ask if he had seen her.

She would never forget the expression on his face, as she saw him there, and all she could say was 'I'm Sorry', when he took her home and took care of her. The worse she feared came true when he put her to bed, their bed, and didn't join her, she knew she had destroyed them, because after that they never slept together again. She wished he would have screamed at her or even hit her, anything was better that becoming quiet and not saying a thing. However, it was only the beginning because after that he just folded into himself, then she watched him die inside and she had to live with knowledge that she done that to him.

That memory and seeing him crying now, brought all the pain back up and that made the tears start to come down her cheeks too. This last year, Penny had been dying inside with him and for her it was getting harder to go on anymore, knowing she did this to him. It was that renewed guilt and grief that made her, act now without thinking, as she walked the final steps up to where he was sitting, and fell on her knees in front of him sobbing, the only words she could say, "I'm sorry Leonard, I am so sorry." as her tears dripped down her face.

Leonard had been clueless she was there and now this sudden surprise made him raise his head from his hands to look at her in shock. Penny kneeing before him sobbing was the last thing he ever expected to see and he was beyond dumbfounded, saying the only thing that came to his mind. "Sorry for what Penny." he asked, totally stunned, his tears now stopped.

Penny blinked at the confused and surprised expression on his face, her sobs turning to heavy breathing as the tears still fell, as she tried to process his question and respond to him. "Leonard, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it, I love you."

Leonard just stared at her, he didn't know what to say, did she mean Sheldon and what did she mean 'I love you'. "Penny, I'm….confused right now, and am having trouble understanding you." Confused was a simple word right now he was way beyond confused.

Penny didn't understand, finding him crying there could mean anything, but she would do anything for him right now, so "I'm sorry Honey, I made you this way. I will do anything you want, anything, if it will make things better for you." Penny then took a ragged breath. "I just want you to get better and if…divorce is what you want…" Penny suddenly couldn't find the words, the thought of loosing him was almost to hard to bare. It took her a second to compose herself before began to speak again, "Please Honey tell me what you want, we can't go on like this, I can't watch you in pain anymore."

Leonard looked at her in shock, her words running through his confused mind, divorce him? Was she was his wife? The thought that he could be married to her, suddenly made hope come alive in him, but then he remembered that he wasn't from this timeline and she was probably actually married to someone from it, not him. Leonard sighed, he needed to understand what was going on. "Penny, how long have we been married now." Leonard just blankly looked at her.

"Seven years, Honey, if you count the last year." Penny's voice cracked again. Tears now coming from her eyes again, as she wondered if he was going to ask for a divorce, she really didn't know if she could survive without him.

'Seven Years!' That was longer than the timeline he just left. He didn't know what to do, he couldn't speak for her husband, but this Penny was really upset and he never could stand Penny upset. "Penny I don't think this is the right time to be talking about divorce." 'At least with me' Leonard thought.

Penny now just stared at him, the words 'right time' sticking in her mind, he seemed so calm now, something didn't seem right, Leonard had never been like this since the day he found out she cheated. It was like he had just changed, he was talking to her and he was so more controlled then before, it both confused and scared her. "Leonard, what has changed? Why are you acting different?" Penny was now worried Leonard had finally hit the end, he was so composed right now, almost like someone who knew what he was going to do. Then a chill went through her, he acted like someone who was about to do something permanent, she knew because she had felt that way this last year herself. The tears started to well up again as fear started to take her over, "Leonard, I can't live without you, please don't do something to yourself, please don't leave me." her voice now cracking again as the new tears fell down her cheeks.

Leonard knew his words were not helping a thing now, he could see he was only making her more upset and her kneeling and crying was something he could not bare, so he just did something he always did with his Penny, he took her hands and helped her stand up. She just let him lead her up to a standing position, offering no resistance, so he went a step further with his plan and pulled her close into his arms and hugged her, feeling her grab on to him tight and begin crying again. He just held her and let her cry, he knew it was the best thing for her and holding her was comforting to him too.

Penny had not hugged Leonard for over a year, so him pulling her into a comforting hug, overwhelmed her, her grief spilling out, while she held on to him for dear life. She stayed like that for twenty minutes, unable to move, while Leonard rubbed her back, it was like it was before and she never wanted it to end. Finally no more tears would come, her face was dry, covered in dried up tears, but she still hung to him, she knew that this would eventually end and she didn't know if she could take him letting her go. "I love you Leonard." she whispered.

Leonard wanted to say 'I love you too.' but he couldn't mislead her, because he actually did love her. He knew then he had to tell her, he had to tell her everything, she needed to know, he loved her too much to deceive her. "Penny we need to talk, I need to tell you something." He then slowly pushed her off him, at first feeling her resist, but finally letting go. He pulled up another chair and sat her down in front of him as he sat. "Penny I'm not who you think I am."

Penny blinked, "I don't understand?" Her grief was now temporarily put aside in confusion.

Leonard sighed, looking around, "Penny this machine around us is…."

"Sheldon's time machine." Penny finished for him, seeing his eyes go wide in shock.

"You know what it is? How?" he was stunned.

"You told me." She now looked at him in even greater confusion. "Don't you remember, we use to come down here a lot while I was getting my Physics undergraduate degree.

"You have a physics degree!"

"Just a Bachelors…Wait a minute, you know that." Penny now stared at him, her eyes getting wide. "Leonard you told me all about time travel and the physics of it….but you don't seem to remember." She now looked around the room at the equipment and the machine, finally looking at him with concern, "Leonard, what did you and Sheldon do?"

Leonard sucked in a breath, "Penny, I'm not from this timeline."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20 - Confession**

Penny stared at him, "What do you mean you are not from this timeline?"

Leonard looked back at her and sighed, finally repeating, "I'm from a different timeline, I come from a different version of this." Leonard looked around at the room and then back at her. "Time has changed."

"Oh My God!" Penny jumped up from her seat and backed away from Leonard looking at him like he was a monster.

"Penny, I won't hurt you, I promise. I am still Leonard, maybe not your Leonard, but I am still who I am." Leonard tried to calm her.

"What did you do? Sheldon and you were together, is he…..?" Penny looked at him wide eyed.

Leonard nodded, "Sheldon is from the same timeline as me, not this one."

Penny just stared at him, not knowing what to say, then as it all sank in, "Where is my husband?"

"I don't know." Leonard shook his head.

"What do you mean you don't know. Did you and Sheldon do something to him?" Anger started to form in Penny.

"No I promise you, we did nothing to him, we haven't even seen him." Leonard tried to calm her.

"You are wearing his suit." Penny pointed to the clothes Leonard was wearing.

"It was here on the coat rack when we arrived here. I couldn't wear what I came in with, so I borrowed this suit off the rack." Leonard pointed to the Army camouflage uniform he wore, now hanging on the coat rack. "He wasn't here when we got here. We believe he and your Sheldon traveled back in time at the same time we were traveling forward."

"What do you mean, he was time traveling. How do you know that if you didn't see him?" Penny questioned, starting to get upset again.

Leonard looked around the room, "The machine was on and had been used, so we looked at the computer log, for the machine's use history, and it says he went back, with your Sheldon, to see dinosaurs."

"Bring him back." Penny demanded.

"I wish I could, but we looked for his marker, and we can't find it, so I don't know exactly where they are."

"I don't understand, if you know where he went, why can't you just bring him back?"

"He has to have a tracking device to lock on and bring him back, we call it a marker because it marks where you are in time, to the machine, so it can lock on to you and bring you back. We looked and can't find one for them." Leonard explained.

Penny was on the verge of tears, "Are you saying my husband is gone."

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying I don't know right now." Leonard again tried to calm her.

Penny just looked at him, "When will you know?"

"My Sheldon and I need to figure this out, it may take a few days." Leonard honestly answered, then added. "But remember we are talking about time travel, a few days in this timeline does not mean that when we find them we can't get there a few seconds after they do." He hoped that would calm her.

Penny seemed to slump then, all the energy she had, a few moments ago, seemed to disappear, as Leonard watched. "Penny why don't you sit down, I'm not going to hurt you, we were together in my timeline too." Leonard gave her a sad small smile.

Penny stared at him, she knew she wasn't afraid of him anymore, but who was he actually, was he a copy of her husband, only different with different memories, it was just all so crazy. She needed to understand, she decided to talk to him, so she did as he suggested and sat back down. "This is impossible, this can't be happening." She shook her head now, "You told me…..I mean my husband told me he didn't think time travel was really possible and it was just a dream for Sheldon." Tears now formed in Penny's eyes as she looked at him. "Did he lie to me?"

Leonard suddenly wished he hadn't said a thing, but then thought, how would he have explained it when her husband showed up, so he reasoned to himself that he had to tell her. "I didn't think Sheldon could do it either, in my timeline, I don't think your husband lied to you, he was telling you what he believed." Leonard tried to explain.

"Of course you would take his side." Penny spat out, then looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." suddenly she felt very tired again.

Leonard watched as she slumped in her chair, again the energy seemed to drain from her as he watched, it made him feel bad and he wanted to just hold her again, but knew now he couldn't. So Leonard just nodded, "It's okay."

Even sitting there Penny couldn't stop from still staring intently at him. "I know he didn't lie to me, he told me everything and I know he believed what he told me. You said you didn't think Sheldon would ever solve time travel either, but now you are here. Having a physics degree helps me understand, can you explain it to me? What did you and my Leonard do?"

'That was a good question' Leonard thought, "I don't know. The best I could tell we were both traveling in time at the same time, so I don't really know, either we combined or are both in different places, I guess."

"You and I….Leonard talked about time travel a lot." Her eyes looked concerned as she started to understand the implications of what he was telling her, "Leonard told me that going back in time was crazy and shouldn't be done. What did you and Sheldon do to change time!"

She was getting little upset again, Leonard needed to calm her down, so he thought for a minute. "I told you all this before, I mean the Leonard in this timeline told you this all before?"

Penny got calmer as she explained, "Leonard, told me time travel was extremely dangerous, that each thing you change has ripples, like a stone in water, and they spread out and change things here and there, until the whole timeline changes. You said man should never travel back in time to when man existed, the danger was too great, one ripple could destroy the world."

Leonard needed to think a minute and he wanted Penny to relax, so he momentarily changed the subject, "You have a physics degree." Leonard stated. "What made you get that."

"You….my husband, I wanted to be able to understand your…his work and talk to him about it. Doesn't the Penny in your timeline have a degree?"

"Yes as a matter of fact she does, but not in physics. She had a bachelors and masters in criminal psychology. She is a police woman, a detective and negotiator."

"So in your timeline I'm a cop." Penny shook her head in wonderment, but then she got back on subject with him, although now a little calmer. "Why did you go back to change time? Why did you take such a chance with everything? Didn't you know it was dangerous?"

Leonard nodded. "Yes, You are right, I did, but I had to go, in my timeline, Sheldon went back to change something, and I had to stop him."

"You failed?"

"No it was success, but there were still ripples." Leonard sighed, suddenly feeling very sad again, "I ended up here, so I lost you and our baby."

Penny sat there, her jaw dropped, staring at him. "Our baby?" Leonard just sadly nodded.

"Sheldon did this." she stared at nothing for a minute. "Wait, how can it be me, that you lost?"

"I traveled in time, not you. You remained here the whole time, so there is only one of you, the ripples changed this time and you along with it. Your career was changed but I guess we still got married." Leonard explained.

"Were we married, happily married?" she was staring at him intensely. He just nodded again. "And I was pregnant with our baby, I was a cop, we were happy and in love." Again he nodded.

They sat quietly in the room, Leonard watching Penny, he knew she was thinking so he just kept quiet. After ten minutes went by, he finally had to say something, "Penny?"

Penny looked into his eyes, this Leonard looked different than the last time she saw her Leonard, unbroken and confident. "Okay…..Thank you." She sat there a minute before she looked back at him, softly sighing, "I guess if there is nothing I can do here, I don't want to be here anymore, I want to go home. I'm a mess, this is a mess and I don't want to see anybody, anymore today."

Leonard nodded. "Okay, I understand, but please keep in contact with me….I may need your help, a friend you know. I'm sort of lost here right now." 

Penny looked at him confused, then seemed to come to an understanding. "Sweetie, where are you planning to stay?" 

Leonard looked around the room, "I guess…I could…..I don't know."

"You need to come back to our home. My Leonard still lives there and he will want to talk to you as soon as he knows about you….that is if you are sure you are not him." Penny stared at him again, wondering about all that was said the last few minutes.

Leonard shrugged, "I don't really know anything right now, to be honest with you. That is one of the big paradoxes in time travel, what happens if you run into your self, or you cross while moving in time. I just don't know."

Penny's look softened, "Since you don't know exactly who your are or what you are going to do, you definitely need to come to our home then, where I can watch you." Then Penny got a reflective expression on her face, "Maybe I can help you fix this." 

Leonard nodded, "Maybe you're right."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 - Sheldon's Surprise**

Now that Amy had joined Sheldon at the party, together they began to greet and receive congratulations from people again, plus Sheldon continued to find out as much as he could about what was going on in this timeline and where he fit in it all. He liked that everyone was realizing his brilliance, but he hated parties and he hated people shaking his hand to congratulate him, even if they seemed to not do it too much. The worse part was however, that he wasn't sure how to act, he didn't know how this Sheldon acted in this timeline, but luckily Amy being there saved him, she was always there for him when he hesitated, even covering for him a little when he got confused.

During what seemed like a little lull in people coming up to congratulate him, Amy wrapped her arms around his and slipped a small bottle of Purell hand sanitizer into his palm, "You doing okay, you seem a little tense and like you didn't want to even talk to some of those people."

Her concern for him, made him believe that he wasn't entirely different in this timeline as he was in his timeline which was a relief. So he tried to see how much of him was the same as this timeline's Sheldon, "It is just a lot of people and it gets too much sometimes." Sheldon then looked for her response.

"I know Honey, you don't care for parties, especially ones where everyone is just getting you involved in meaningless chatter, but this is your first Nobel Prize, it is special." Amy reassured him.

"You are right as always, of course." Sheldon missed talking to her so much and just having her there made him happy.

It was then a woman walked up to them, one Sheldon recognized from his timeline that had worked with Amy in her lab. This woman smiled at Amy, who smiled back, then turned to Sheldon, "Congratulations Dr Cooper, Amy told us it was only a matter of time before you would win a Nobel." She then gave Sheldon a little nod, which he appreciated instead of a hug or handshake. However, then the woman, smiled at Amy again. "Congratulations Dr Cooper, you are glowing today." Which made Amy smile even larger and the both of them then squealed and hugged each other to Sheldon's surprise.

"Well Karen, to be fair Sheldon had a lot to do with that too." Both girls then giggled again.

"So how far are you along?" Karen asked.

Amy, who was wearing a loose billowy dress, then pressed the front of her dress against her baby bump. "Four Months now."

Sheldon stood there wide eyed as he now noticed Amy was pregnant, her dress had been hiding it before. That woman, Karen, was right Amy glowed and he was speechless, as the two girls talked. He didn't know what was going on around him and didn't hear another sound as he just looked at pregnant Amy in amazement.

The girls talked for a few more minutes, then Amy turned to Sheldon, who now had recovered slightly from his initial shock, "Honey, I am really tired, this pregnancy is really hard on me, do you mind if we go home." Was she was offering him a way out of the party, if she was, he was not going to pass it up.

"Yeah, of course, you probably need your rest." Sheldon was able to get out his mind still reeling that Amy was pregnant.

Amy gave him a smile and a wink, then lead him over to Siebert and some people Sheldon thought were on the board, who immediately congratulated him too. Amy told them she was tired, her hand on her baby bump and she wanted Sheldon to take her home, which everyone agreed was more important than the party, immediately. It was only a few moments later Amy and Sheldon were walking to the exit, Sheldon still in a semi state of shock as he followed Amy along. Once outside the building, walking to the parking lot, Sheldon looked down at Amy, "Thank you Amy."

"That's okay Honey, like I said before, I know how you hate parties, especially with people that you don't have a lot in common with." Amy said to him. "But you seemed a little confused in there today, especially when I was talking to Karen, is there something wrong Honey?"

"Umm, I guess I zoned out a minute, so much going on."

Amy's smile now returned, "In the zone again cuddles, yes I know all about that."

Sheldon smiled back at her and was happy at least that part of his self was still there in this timeline, he was going to have to find out what else was the same or different. They walked quietly for a couple minutes giving Sheldon some peace to think and think he did, a lot. Since he got to this timeline, he found he won the Nobel Prize, which meant he fixed the problem with Lewis like he originally planned, score one for Dr Cooper. He also now had Amy back too, not only back but married to her, so he wouldn't have to worry about loosing her again, which was a huge relief. The pregnancy was something he never imagined when this whole thing started, he had just wanted Amy back, pregnancy was never on him mind, but now as he thought about it, he was sort of happy. The baby obviously had his DNA, the sperm donor may be a different Sheldon, but it was still his DNA, so it was logically his baby too and he didn't even have to have coitus to get Amy pregnant. Sheldon then smiled, Amy was pregnant with his DNA and he hadn't had to even participate, score another on for Dr Cooper. Sheldon realized he had everything he had been cheated out of a couple weeks ago, more actually, it had all worked out like he wanted, and Sheldon's smile got larger.

However, Sheldon's happy moment disappeared when they came up to a car, he didn't recognize and Amy lead him to the passenger door, to obviously let her in, Sheldon froze. Amy was acting like she expected him to drive, and a chill ran down his spine, he could not risk faking something like that, not with Amy being pregnant, so he quickly went over his options. "Amy, could you drive, I had a couple drinks with Leonard before I came up, then had some mouthwash to hide it, but I still am feeling the effects." Sheldon lied, he was so scared at the moment, even his facial ticks, when he lied, didn't even appear.

"Oh, okay. Really you drank with Leonard?" Amy smiled. "That is so nice Honey, I'm glad you two had a guys moment together. You two don't have much time together anymore, and since that thing with Penny, he has been so depressed….I don't know Honey, I'm afraid about what is going to happen to them."

Sheldon nodded, trying to act like he had a clue what that thing was, "We can always hope things will change between them."

Amy smiled, "Yes we can. I don't think it will, but there is always hope." Amy then got into the drivers seat while Sheldon settled into the passengers spot, relieved that he was safe for a few more minutes while they drove to their home, which Sheldon had no idea where it was located.

Sheldon felt a lot better when Amy pulled into the parking lot of 2311 Los Robles and even better when they got off the working elevator to the fourth floor and entered apartment 4A. He was prepared for the worse, but seeing the same leather couch and his stuff in and on the bookcases, finally made him relax a little and for the first time since he arrived in that timeline, he thought that maybe he would be able to adapt. "Honey, would you like some tea?" It was music to Sheldon's ears, and he smiled at his wife and nodded as he sat in his spot, suddenly feeling like his life was centering up again.

Amy took the teas over to the coffee table and sat next to her husband, she had heard his sigh as he sat down it his spot, and she wondered why he had been so tense. She was a little concerned for him, he was acting even more tense today than other days, when he had to attend parties, "Honey is everything okay?"

Sheldon looked down at her, the feeling inside of him suddenly having her back, her being his wife, carrying their protégé, and now being home in his spot, was overwhelming and he almost couldn't deal with how absolutely wonderful he felt right then. "Yes things are actually wonderful Amy, it is just so much has happened today, it is very overwhelming to me." Sheldon smiled down at her, everything he just said was the absolute truth.

Amy cuddled up to him and Sheldon took her under his arm, fighting the impulse to pull away, as she got herself comfortable against him. Sheldon closed his eyes just letting his other senses take over, her smell was intoxicating and her soft warm body against him was soothing, before this day he had dreams about this happening again, ever since he had lost her in his timeline, and now having it overcame all his fears and phobias of being so close and intimate with another person. Sheldon just sat there with her against him, becoming use to the feel of her and slowly learning that he was safe with her again, it was something he always knew, but now he understood that she was what he really needed in his life. Sheldon now admitted to himself how wrong he had been, letting her go had been the biggest mistake of his life, in his old timeline. In this timeline he didn't let her go and he still got his Nobel, actually sooner that he would have in his timeline, even if everything had gone right. No, now that he had Amy back everything would be better, he just knew it, he just needed now to adapt to this world he was in and to do that he needed information. "Amy do you think Leonard and Penny will survive this crisis, after all they have been married, how many years?" Sheldon thought they could talk about Leonard and Penny then he could also slip in some parallel questions about him and Amy to get information on his life here.

Amy lifted her head off of him and looked at him confused, "Seven years, you know that."

'Seven years' surprised Sheldon, and he looked at her a moment confused, finally composing himself to respond, "I sometimes put trivial unimportant things out of my mind to make room for science. I never felt the length of their marriage was that important."

"Honey, don't say that, you know you care more about them then that. We would have never met each other if it wasn't for Leonard and Penny, you can't tell me you forgot already about the dating site and the blind date they set up so we could meet each other. And they were your best man and my maid of honor two years ago. You can't tell me their situation doesn't hurt you inside for them." Amy looked up at him with sad eyes.

Another surprise, Leonard and Penny got them together, not Howard and Raj, interesting. Also interesting was he know found out they had been married two years, "I guess you are right, I didn't mean to seem like I didn't care."

Amy's smile came back as she laid her head back on his chest to cuddle him, "I knew it, it is just sometimes Honey, your old ways come out in full and I like my husband better."

Sheldon now understood something, he had changed after marrying Amy, which actually made some sense, obviously he was not put off by coitus anymore. Suddenly Sheldon stiffened and for the second time that night Amy lifted off him to look up in confusion. "What's wrong Honey?"

Sheldon was for a moment at a loss for words, before something came to him. "Amy, Leonard seemed to be sick, a cold or something and I didn't know it until after I took a drink directly from a bottle he handed me for a toast."

"You drank from a bottle Leonard handed you!" Amy was dumbfounded.

"I told you I had a few drinks with him, so I was not in clear mind at the time." Sheldon tried to explain. "Anyway, I am afraid of spreading those germs to you Amy."

"I'll be okay, Honey." Amy gave him a sweet smile.

Sheldon thought quick, "I know your are strong, but I am very concerned with the baby."

Amy's smile faltered a little, doubt coming into her mind plus the mother instinct now taking over her concern for the baby inside her. "Oh. Of course you are right to be concerned. What do you suggest we do?"

"I think maybe we should keep our distance tonight to make sure I don't pass any of Leonard's germs to you. We should know if I am coming down with anything by tomorrow." Sheldon tired to convince her.

Amy didn't like it, she loved cuddling Sheldon, but his logic did make sense. "Okay Sheldon." She then moved to the other side of the couch.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny drove to their house with Leonard as passenger, he was surprised she drove a new BMW convertible and that they had a house, however he was shocked when he saw the house. "Penny you live here?" 

Penny looked at him confused at first then with understanding, "Yeah, it is only half paid off yet, but I make good money so I'll have it paid off by the end of the season. We….I mean my husband and I moved in here about a month before the….we have lived here over a year now."

"It must cost over a million dollars." Leonard still was surprised as they went through the automatic gate, it was a very large stylish house in a very wealthy neighborhood.

"3.5 million to be exact, and we can afford it." Penny told him.

"You make that much money, Wow." Leonard said in awe.

"Sweetie, you make quite a bit of money too, ever since you won the Nobel, your yearly bonus can make the house loan payments." Penny explained, forgetting who she was talking to.

Leonard shook his head, "Did you say I….I mean your husband won a Nobel Prize?"

"Yes" Penny now realized she had said him and not her husband.

Leonard shook his head again in disbelief. "How much does your husband make?"

"Well, his official salary is $150,000 a year, but his bonus is $350,000 a year."

"Really, your husband makes that!" Leonard was again shocked.

"Sweetie he told me once that he brings in 50 million a year in grants and donations, so really they are not paying him enough. He likes his job, at Cal Tech, too much, some of those other colleges had offered him close to a million a year." Penny had now stopped the car and was looking at Leonard, a strange expression on her face.

Leonard looked back at her, "What is wrong Penny."

"I'm sorry, but talking like this reminded me of the first year we…..Leonard and me were married." Penny then looked away and got out of the car, concerned how easy it was to talk to him, how he seemed like her Leonard, before she cheated on him.

Leonard followed Penny into the house, it was really quite beautiful, bright and cheery, it reminded him so much of her. He was right behind her until she stopped in the middle of the living room, obviously thinking of something as she stood there. "Leonard, you can have the guest room to the right, down that hall. The master is on the left and farther down, on the left, and just past that, is my husband's room. You can probably find something to wear there, I don't think he will mind and everything there I assume fits you anyway."

Leonard nodded, "What does your husband normally wear around the house?"

Penny looked at him, a sad expression momentarily taking over he features, "He usually works late and just comes home and goes to bed. So he wears a suit every day from when he leaves till when he comes to bed. There are still jeans and some T-shirts in the closet and drawers, if you want to wear those, he hasn't worn them in a long time."

Leonard nodded, "Okay, is it okay if I take a shower."

Penny gave him a small smile, "Of course Sweetie, this is like your home now, you don't have to ask."

Leonard smiled back at her, "Okay, thanks." Then he headed down the hall to the room.

Penny stared at him as he left till he disappeared into the guest room, she still couldn't believe this was all happening. Time travel and a man who was so much like her husband it was scary and disconcerting to her, especially since there was a moment there she almost kissed him, forgetting who he was. She also thought back to when he held her, again confused about how good it felt to be in his arms, his smell, his touch the way he held her, again reminding her of her Leonard. She remembered him saying that maybe they crossed paths, while time traveling, or even combined, as the sudden thought crossed her mind, was she being given a second chance. It was all so mind boggling, and she shook her head to clear it, then went to her room to get out of the dress she was wearing, shower and change for the evening. She had an extreme urge to talk to this man, whoever he was, and try to find out more about what was happening, she really needed to know more before it all drove her nuts.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 - Few Answers**

It was almost an hour later when Leonard re-emerged to the living room, and Penny had do use all of her acting skills to not let her feelings come to the surface, as she saw him. Leonard was wearing jeans and her husbands periodic table T-shirt, it reminded her again of the first years they were married and the feelings it caused to well up in her were almost unbearable. The immediate attraction she felt towards him bothered her, she had to force herself to remember this man was still somewhat a stranger to her and not her husband.

"I see you found something to wear." She said softly almost a whisper, as she continue stared at him, now noticing his muscles under the shirt, his light tan and his flat stomach. Her husband had looked sickly the last time she saw him, and she had wanted so badly for him to go to a doctor, she had become so worried about him. To now see this Leonard like this was a little strange to her, and only made it seem more that he was not her husband, but some specter of a Leonard past.

"Yeah, this is okay isn't it?" Leonard responded.

"Yes, it is fine." Penny had put on a designer pair of lounging clothes that looked like a chic track suit, but made of much more expensive material.

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"No, ask all you want." Penny actually wanted to talk to him, to find out more about everything that was happening and find out more about him.

"Our friends, does everyone still hang out together, do we meet for dinner still and where do we meet?" Leonard wondered about their friends, things had changed and he wondered if anything changed with them. Also he wanted to talk to Howard about the machine.

"You mean Sheldon and Amy?" Penny was a little confused at what he wanted.

"Yes, and Howard, Bernadette, Raj, Alex and maybe Cheryl now." Leonard explained.

"I know Howard and Raj, if Cheryl is my old friend from the CheeseCake Factory, I know her too, but who are Bernadette and Alex?" Again Leonard had her confused.

Leonard stared at her, not even wanting to think about what changes could have occurred. "Bernadette is Howard's wife." This change worried him the most.

"Sweetie, Howard has never been married, and we haven't been around him for years. After we got married, we sort of drifted apart from him and Raj. You told me Howard has sort of gotten a little eccentric after his mother died and had become a loner. Raj went back to India and got married, but the last we heard that wasn't working out. He had an arranged marriage and his parents set him up with a real gold-digger, even they want him to get a divorce now." Penny explained.

"So Raj never met Cheryl, you never introduced Bernadette to Howard and Alex was never Sheldon's assistant." Leonard shook his head, he was really disliking this timeline, his friends had miserable lives, Penny and her husband's marriage seemed to have some problems, and the only one who seemed to be doing any good was Sheldon.

"What do you mean I never introduced Bernadette to Howard?" Penny questioned.

"Bernadette worked with you at the Cheesecake Factory and you introduced her to Howard, they fell in love and married. She was perfect for him." Leonard explained, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Bernadette?" Penny thought for a moment, "Was she a short blonde girl, who wore glasses, with an ample chest?" Penny responded.

Leonard nodded, "That sounds like her."

"I didn't know her too well, but she seemed nice as I remember. I fixed her up with Howard?"

Leonard nodded, "Yeah, you were sort of a matchmaker for all the guys."

"When did I do that?" Penny couldn't help but be interested in what he was telling her. It was her life that had been changed by the time travel and she wanted to know about her previous life.

"You had been in the apartment, across from ours, for almost three years and we had been boyfriend and girlfriend for a few months….You did live in the apartment across from me and Sheldon, didn't you?"

Penny nodded, "Yes, I lived across from you, but you and I were in a serious relationship about a year after I moved in. I didn't work at the CheeseCake Factory three years after I moved in, you changed all that."

"You said that before, how did I change that?" Leonard looked at her confused.

"About a year after we started our relationship, the university was doing a commercial to promote the school and you were in it, because of your recent awarding of the Nobel Prize. Cal Tech was trilled at getting you to stay and would do anything for you then, so you made them put me in as the narrator and main character for the commercial. The commercial came out really great and was shown on TV a lot, so it got me a lot of exposure, then came more small jobs, a movie, then another, and now I am a regular in a popular SitCom, because of the break you got me." She explained.

"I'm sure you being a good actress had nothing to do with it." Leonard joked with her and she gave him a small smile. "I actually won a Nobel Prize?" then Leonard thought a second, "I mean your husband won a Nobel Prize."

Penny nodded, "Sweetie, I'm surprised you haven't won another. You are the foremost authority on lasers in the freaking world. Your proof of match phasing light, in lasers, was world shaking, you actually made the Phasers of Star Trek exist." Penny looked at him, it was so easy to talk to him, it was just like before when she could just talk to her husband for hours on end, she forgot how much she missed that.

Leonard shook his head in thought, "I thought about that theory but didn't have time to work on it." Then Leonard thought a little more, and again reminded himself that it wasn't him that won the Nobel but her husband. "Your husband must really be something."

Penny nodded and looked at him again, his comment about her husband making her realize again she had been acting like he was her husband, it was so easy to do and it was scary, "Yes, when I met him, he was a workaholic. I was in my apartment for a week before I even saw him at the mailboxes, he had the most adorable frown on his face while he went through his mail. I almost died when he finally looked at me, smiling and said 'Hi', I was crushing on him that very moment. However he seemed to work so much, I didn't get to see him at first except when passing each other or when we happened to use the elevator together." Penny explained.

"The elevator worked." Leonard chuckled, "So how did you get together, if he didn't seem to have time to do things together?"

"I got all the guys to come to my first Halloween party, so he made time since his friends were going and I like to think because I personally practically begged him to come. My ex-boyfriend being there and my drinking my inhibitions away only made me want him more, so…." Penny now blushed. "I followed him to his apartment when he left the party."

"You kissed and then separated for the night right?" Leonard didn't seem to think this was what happened, but he hoped he didn't take advantage of her.

Penny got dreamy eyed, "Oh boy did we kiss. It was after that first kiss, I knew I couldn't let him go, that crush I had, now turned into a need for him." Penny now looked guilty. "I never told you…Leonard…about this before, the fainting I faked was just to get him to let me get in his bedroom and me in your, I mean his bed."

"Wait a minute, are you telling me you kissed then you wanted more to happen, so you faked being faint so you could get in the bedroom with him?" Leonard asked incredulously

Penny nodded like a small child who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, "I just wanted to be with him and make love to you….him." she whispered, suddenly embarrassed, she kept saying you instead of him, she was loosing the battle of differentiating between him and her husband, he seemed so much like her husband.

"So I took advantage of a girl who I thought was sick and in my bed?" Leonard felt sick, that was not like him, then shook his head, it wasn't him, it was another guy.

"No Sweetie, you put me to bed and closed up my party, seeing everybody leave before you locked up…..I mean my husband did. Then he came back to his room and just slept with me all night while he held me, because he was worried about me." Penny quietly said, "I sort of fell in love with you….I mean him that night. The way he held me and how kind he was."

Leonard nodded, glad that this timeline Leonard wasn't an ass. "What happened next?"

"The next morning we woke up and talked, then ended up spending the whole day together, it was like a day long date, and I found out he liked me as much as I liked him, too. He still worked a lot, on his laser research, but we found time to date more and by the end of my first year there, we were in a regular relationship and we moved into the apartment above Sheldon. It was so new and exciting, I thought I would bust sometimes, and being together, if even for just the night sometimes made up for all the work he did and the time we spent apart. He took me to his Nobel Prize ceremony and then a little week long trip in Europe, it felt like a honeymoon, and I knew then I wanted to be with you forever." Penny stared at Leonard for a minute, her mind now thinking about the early times with him, it was so hard to look at him and not want to kiss him.

Leonard noticed Penny had zoned out a little, "Penny?"

The trance was broken, "Sorry." Penny took a second to compose herself, "After we got back from Europe, there was the Cal Tech commercial, a month later, then a few months after that, another commercial and I was starting to become a working actor, while I was still being a waitress, until one day my acting became my main job." Penny continued to explain.

"So you got married to Leonard soon after that?" Leonard was now curious about what happened.

Penny nodded, "On our one year anniversary of moving together, we went to a fancy restaurant to celebrate and talked a lot. We got pretty serious, we were already in love so we got talking about our future and before the night was over we both decided we wanted to get married. The next week we got rings and started planning it, it was probably one of the happiest times in my life….." Penny had a far away stare again and a little smile on her face for a few moments.

Leonard didn't say a thing just watched her, she was so beautiful, exactly like when she was his wife, and he suppressed the urge to just go to her and kiss her. He sat their a little while before he spoke again, "So what happened a year ago?" He asked quietly

Suddenly Penny looked at him like she was going to cry. "Its personal, I'm sorry I don't want to talk about it."

Leonard felt like an ass, obviously it was something that bothered her and he shouldn't have asked because after all he was an outsider. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Penny nodded, seeming to get a hold of herself, "I'm going to sleep now, I'm tired after everything. I'll see you tomorrow." Penny got up and went to her room leaving Leonard sitting there.

Leonard watched her go, sad because he really wanted to talk to her more. He felt stupid like when he first dated her, always saying the wrong things. He slowly shook his head and then stood up to go to his room, thinking he might as well try and go to sleep too.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon laid in the guest room after convincing Amy they needed to sleep apart, remembering her sad expression when they parted. He hated to do it but he never slept with her before and especially never had coitus with anyone before, so he really needed to do this so he could figure things out. He didn't know if he could sleep with her even, the thought of someone in bed with him still sent shivers down his spine, so just trying to jump into it seemed impossible to him.

Sheldon also needed time to try and come up with some answers, but none would come and he immediately started to wonder how Leonard was doing. He hadn't seen Leonard since they separated in the hall and Penny never came back after she left, so for all he knew Leonard could still be sitting in the machine room. The more he thought about it he knew he needed to get to Leonard and talk to him, so assuming that Leonard was Cal Tech he needed to get to Cal Tech tomorrow. Suddenly actually having a plan made Sheldon relax, the tiredness finally taking over his mind allowing him to sleep.

Amy wasn't so lucky, she was still awake, she was so use to sleeping with her husband, not having him in bed with her to cuddle against, especially in her condition, had made her very tense. She didn't know what was wrong, but she knew something was, Sheldon was acting strangely all night, even more than he should have been that night. The whole situation kept rattling around in her mind, as she rolled over again in bed, knowing she would probably not sleep that night.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny laid awake in bed, she had been rolling around since she laid down, her mind working in overtime, unable to sleep. Her mind was torn between thinking about her husband and thinking about the man down the hall in her guestroom. It scared her how easy it was to be around him and how comfortable she was starting to feel in his presence, but she couldn't understand why, he was just a duplicate Leonard, wasn't he. Penny now thought about the talks she had with her husband about time and how it impacted the time traveler and the world around them. Basically it was bad, her husband had specifically said that and the only time he felt it was even marginally safe to go back was the time before the big extinction event, the asteroid, because he said it was a reset of earth so the chances of accidentally screwing up things were at their lowest. At no time was it good to go back when man was on the earth, the chances of changing history were too great, you could even make yourself not exist which would be a huge time paradox.

Penny thought, so what does that make the man in the guest room, he said that Sheldon and him went back in time and changed it from the time they knew. Also he said that, now, she was married to her husband instead of him and she didn't have their baby in her anymore. Penny thought, if she went back in time and came back to find another Penny with her husband she would really be upset, because he was hers, she was the original. Penny shot up to a sitting position in bed wide eyed, as the realization hit her, the man down the hall was the original Leonard, her husband was the doppelganger, who now had her, effectively taking her from him and their baby just ceased to exist. 'Oh My God', Penny thought, what does this all mean, her world now seemed crazy, and the more she thought of it the more disturbing it all seemed to her.

Penny sat on the edge of her bed, she now couldn't sleep if she tried, even though she was physically tired, her mind couldn't stop going over everything over and over. She always thought that when people married they belonged to each other, not physically, like a prisoner, but in mind and soul. What bothered her was who did she belong to, the more she thought about it the more screwed up it seemed, she was an original, she never time traveled, the changes just changed the path her life went. She then trembled, the man down the hall was the original Leonard, she had been married to him and they had a baby, the time change, changed that. Tears started to come down her cheeks, that was suppose to be her life, she was suppose to be happy and pregnant with the man down the hall, not a cheating slut that destroyed her husband. Penny was having trouble dealing with it all and she knew only one thing she could do, she walked out of her bedroom to the living room, opening the door to the bar cabinet, pulling out a bottle.

**A/N: I have been trying to update this every other day, so the next update would be Monday, 22 Sept, which is also season premiere. I will be watching the show and probably on the forums that night, so I will probably not have an update that night. Just wanted to let you know.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 - Confession and Confusion**

Leonard was woken by the sound of glass knocking against glass and then Penny' s voice "Oh Crap." He hadn't been sleeping well since he turned in, waking up about every so often, so the noise brought him wide awake. He got his, Leonard's, robe on and went into the living room to find Penny pouring something into a glass.

"Penny, are you drinking?" She quickly turned to look at him and he got closer to see what was in her hands, it was a vodka bottle.

Penny sighed, "That is what I do Leonard, drink. It helps me sleep." She then lifted the glass to her lips, her hand trembling slightly.

Leonard couldn't believe what he was seeing, so he grabbed the glass from her and put it back on the table, leaving her wide eyed just looking at him. "Penny tell me what is wrong."

Tears formed in her eyes and her voice became unsteady. "Leonard what do you think is wrong, my husband is missing, you are here and I don't know who you are even."

"Well if I am the real Leonard, I don't want you to drink and if I am a different Leonard, I don't want you to drink." Leonard just looked into her eyes until she turned away.

Penny then practically fell into the chair, quietly saying, "It hurts, it hurts all the time and I have been so lonely, I can't sleep unless I'm half passed out anymore."

Leonard felt his heart breaking for her, he couldn't let her do this to herself, so he did something he always did when she was upset, he took her hand, lifting her up from the chair and lead her back to her bedroom. "Penny get in bed."

"Leonard, I told you I can't sleep." She pleaded, tears still on her face.

"Please Penny, get in bed." She looked at him for a second, then crawled into the bed and looked up at him like a small child. Leonard then crawled into bed with her, taking her into his arms and held her tight against him.

Penny didn't know why she trusted him, but she did and she didn't know why she let him get in the bed with her, but she did. Maybe it was thoughts about him being the original Leonard, that she was at first his, she really didn't know, her mind was all over the place right now. So the feelings she now felt when he took her into his arms and spooned her, she didn't want to even think about, but it felt so good to be held by him and she just made herself believe it was her husband as she settled into his arms. He was warm and he actually made her feel secure, she still felt guilty, and she sniffled a little, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him to leave.

Leonard just held her hoping he was doing the right thing, he didn't want her to drink and this was all he could think of doing. She whimpered a first but then, to his surprise, fell into a deep sleep, softly snoring like his Penny did when she was dead tired. He was glad he had helped her and settled himself in to sleep too, not waking up again the rest of the night.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny slowly woke up, because of the light in the room, surprised she didn't have an upset stomach from drinking her vodka last night, until slowly she realized something was different. Her back was comforting warm and it was pressed against another person, who was holding her tight, cuddling her, it both made her feel good and scared her. She quickly became alert and turned in the mans arms only to see Leonard looking at her, then suddenly it all came back to her. "Um…..Hi…..I mean good morning."

Leonard had released her and scooted back a little from her in the bed, as soon as she moved, like he had done something wrong. "Did you sleep okay."

Penny nodded, "Yes, thank you." It had been over a year since she had slept with her husband and it was so weird to wake up with him, or someone exactly like him and talk, she had missed it so much.

They just stared at each other for a couple of minutes, both wondering what the other one was thinking, it was weird for both of them, not knowing what to say to the other. "Are you hungry?"

Penny nodded, "A little."

"Why don't I make some coffee and bagels for us. You have that stuff don't you?" He gave her a little smile.

Penny gave him a little smile back, "The bagels are in the freezer."

Leonard got out of bed and put the robe on, heading off to the kitchen while Penny watched his every move, not knowing what to think. It was like having her old Leonard back, they guy she married 7 years ago, the guy she fell madly in love with, it was so much like him it was scary. The gentleness and the confidence he had after they wed, he was her rock and now he seemed to be back, she didn't really understand how that could happen. She had to find out more, so she got out of bed, and put on her robe, realizing how for the first time in a year she felt good and rested after waking up.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy eventually fell asleep shortly before morning, therefore she slept late into the morning, finally waking up just before noon, not feeling really rested and a little aggravated at herself for sleeping so late. There was another thing that bothered her, she never slept this late since she was married, because she never fell asleep that late before and she always got up early when Sheldon did. Being married to Sheldon, and sleeping with him, made bedtime for her very relaxing and she would fall asleep instantly. Sheldon told her that he felt the same way, so they would both sleep well and get up early refreshed, also her night terrors seemed to have disappeared since their first night together. Sheldon wasn't no huge hunk but being with him at night made Amy feel safe and secure, so last night had been extremely stressful for her. So now awake, the only thing now on her mind, was finding her husband, she needed to see him before she did anything else that day.

Sheldon sat in his spot watching TV, at least Dr Who was still on TV in this timeline and the little details like that helped him relax. He had almost went into his room…..their room, several times this morning, but every time he went to the door he heard her heavy breathing and decided to let her sleep. Even watching his favorite TV show couldn't help the itchy feeling in his mind of being in his pajamas till noon, his schedule completely messed up already that day. He jumped slightly when he heard the bedroom door open and then heard the bathroom door close, it took a few more minutes before he turned to see Amy come into the room, her hair slightly combed and her eyes filled with concern.

"Good Morning Sheldon." Amy cautiously greeting him.

"Good Morning Dr Cooper." Sheldon responded, he actually liked calling her Dr Cooper, plus he also saw the small smile try to come on her face, so obviously she like being called that too. She walked a couple of steps closer to him and Sheldon's breath caught, she was wearing a gown that ended between her knees and ankles, which looked like a soft thin cotton, because it gently brushed against all her curves and Sheldon could tell she had nothing on under it.

"How are you feeling this morning? Are you sick." She asked him gently, only standing a couple feet from him, looking down at him.

Sheldon almost didn't register what she said, when she had stopped walking the fabric of her sleeping gown had laid flat against her chest, he could actually see the outline of her nipples under the cloth and it was scary. Sheldon shifted a little in his seat, trying to adjust his pajama pants from the new pressure in them, he was also having a little trouble keeping his breath normal, but the worst part was he couldn't take his eyes away from her breasts. Sheldon, didn't even realize his eyes had dilated.

Amy looked at him, he was staring at her breasts, he was checking her out and the look in his eyes, made her smile, forgetting at the moment the concerns she had. Ever since they got married, Sheldon would do this sometimes, just look at her with lust, it made her feel beautiful and desirable to him when he looked at her like that, especially like now, when she knew she looked like she was just getting up, but her husband still wanted her. "Sheldon….Honey." Amy softly said trying to get his attention.

Sheldon's head shot up a slight pink blush on his face and his normally blue eyes, looking very black, "Yes Amy." he said it so softly, Amy would not have heard it if the TV hadn't been put on mute.

"Are you feeling better Honey? Are you sick?" Amy now gave him a little smile.

Sheldon wondered if he was sick, he wanted her to sit next to him, he wanted to feel her next to him, "No I don't think so." he softly said.

Amy smiled and sat down next to him, Sheldon instinctively raising his arm so she could cuddle next to him and she took full advantage of the situation. Amy nuzzled herself as close as she could to him, pulled her feet up onto the couch, and pulled the blanket on the couch back over her as she got comfortable, a gentle sigh escaping her lips as he finally settled in. Sheldon closed his eyes as she settled in, a fight going on in his mind and body, where the fear of human touching was being battled by the feel of Amy and how his body tingled wherever it touched hers. When she stopped moving, Sheldon opened his eyes to look down at her, his eyes going wide as he was now looking down her unbuttoned gown, the first five buttons undone exposing her cleavage. Sheldon was way beyond fascinated, as he stared at her, with the sudden realization that he wanted more, and his mind now became completely centered around her.

Sheldon wanted to touch her, and as he thought about it, he realized he was allowed to, he didn't even have to ask, because they were married and that is what married people did, he had seen that so much from watching Leonard and Penny. Leonard would just grab and squeeze Penny's butt and all she would do was smile at him, so him touching Amy a little should not upset her at all. So Sheldon bought his arm down, over her shoulder, and his hand naturally settled on her baby bump, again making a small sigh come from Amy, letting Sheldon know he was okay.

Sheldon now laid his head back and closed his eyes, this was nice, he actually liked it, his senses seemed to be super sensitive to all these feelings, in a very good way. He felt the warmth at any point her body touched his, it actually felt soothing, and he felt her gentle breathing, which made him feel secure with her. He smelled her, and she smelt so good, it was Amy with a musky smell of her being just out of bed, it only made him feel more content. His mind was now able to relax and think so he went over everything, he had his Nobel now, and he had Amy, really had Amy, plus the added bonus of their protégé inside her. He would be able to do what he wanted when he got back to work, the Nobel made that possible and when he met the board, that would be a condition of him staying there he would demand. He had everything, his recognition, Amy and now he was in control of his future work and life, it was perfect and he was content. It was with those last thoughts, Sheldon drifted off to sleep, to join Amy, who had fell asleep on him as soon as he cuddled her and the baby.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny took care of her morning routine in the bathroom quickly, she wanted to get to the kitchen and see him so badly, she still couldn't believe all this was happening and she was afraid she would turn one minute and it all would be gone. However on walking through the living room she could hear him and when she got to the kitchen he was still there, the relief she felt was almost overwhelming, as she quickly found a stool by the counter to sit down. Penny was giddy inside as she watched him finish up their small breakfast, the whole scene was so domestic and watching him made her feel like she never wanted it to end, but then her mind threw cold water over her sudden new found happiness, when she thought again, 'Was he really her husband?'

"Here you go." Leonard put a bagel and coffee in front of her, made just the way she liked them, she would have smiled, but her mind questioning everything, would only let a frown appear on her lips.

Leonard picked up her mood immediately, "I'm sorry, you probably don't take them that way anymore, right?"

Penny looked at him and sighed, "No Leonard, these are fine. It is just a lot has happened in the last 24 hours, and I'm still trying to get a handle on it."

Leonard nodded, "Yeah, even that I understand."

Penny couldn't help but giggle, "That is my line Hofstadter, If you start using it, it is going to take away one of my best come-backs when you say something I finally get." Penny looked at him, he was smiling at her and suddenly her mind went blank and she just wanted to kiss him.

Leonard smiled at her, amazed by the twinkle in her eye as she smiled back, he could look into those eyes forever, so he did, both of them just staring at each other for minutes. Finally Leonard started to think about his situation, yes that was his Penny, but it was very possible she was married to another man, another Leonard. "Maybe we should eat before it gets cold."

The trance was broken and Penny's smile fell, "Yeah, you're right." She then started silently eating with him.

They didn't talk again, until the bagels were gone and they had their second cup of coffee, then Penny started to ask questions. "Leonard, if you are not my husband, will he come back, when will he come back and what will happen if you meet?"

Leonard got real quiet, since a few hours after his arrival, he knew something was wrong and he had hoped, since meeting Penny again and finding out she was his wife, that maybe things were different than he thought. "Well let me see what I can actually answer." He watched Penny slightly nod to him, it was always her way of saying go ahead, some things never changed, "I don't know what will happen if we meet, maybe nothing or maybe one of us or both of us will vanish." Leonard stopped when Penny gasped and her face crinkled up like she was going to cry. "Penny I just don't know so don't assume anything."

Penny shook her head. "Leonard, I can't loose you." It took her a minute to think about what she said, it seemed that whenever she was upset in her life, her heart would take over and she would speak from her heart blurting out her true feelings, like now. She really didn't know what she meant when she said that, did she mean her husband or the man in front of her, where they one in the same?

Leonard stared at her and she stared back, to say it was awkward was an understatement, so Leonard decided to go on. "I don't know if I am your Leonard or another Leonard. It seems we were both time traveling at the same time, so it is possible we combined or just as possible we passed each other and we both exist." He looked at her and she was still staring at him, just not so intensely as before. "As to when he will come back…..there are still a lot of variables to consider."

Penny knew Leonard better than anyone on earth, so she knew he was holding something big back on that last statement. "Leonard tell me, I am his wife…or your wife…whatever I am, I have a right to know."

Again they stared at each other for a few moments, and like every staring contest he had with her, she most always won. "The thing is Penny, I don't know what they developed in the way of markers. His marker could be different than ours and allow him to come back at a different time."

Penny now understood his concern, "Your saying he should be back by now. He should have been back when I found you sitting in the room."

Leonard looked at her, slowly nodding, "Yeah if he has markers like us he should be back by now and since our markers worked in your time, his have to be very close to ours in how they work. Markers are time beacons that tell the machine exactly where you are, so it can retrieve you. The time machine constantly searches for them, so when you turn your's on, no matter where you are in time, it locks on to you and pulls you back. So you could have spent a year in a new time line, but as soon as you turn on your marker, the machine spots you in all time, which it will do within minutes of you leaving, after it automatically switches form sending to receiving. Sheldon and I arrived within 3 minutes of leaving from the timeline we were in to yours."

Penny looked at him, it actually made sense to her, her knowledge from her Physics degree making everything Leonard said seem logical and very possible. "That seems to support your earlier statement that you and my Leonard combined and you are actually my husband, just with your timeline Leonard's mind." Then Penny swallowed, "Or my husband is dead."

She was right of course and for the first time Leonard was sorry this changed Penny had a Physics degree, she understood everything too well. "Well, yeah, that could be true, the reason he isn't here is because we combined so we are both Leonard's from both timelines." He gave a soft chuckle. "Since I don't know anything of this time line, my mind might slowly change, after time, bringing back all those memories."

"NO!" Penny yelled, she stared at him in shock at his revelation, the tears immediately starting to fall down her face. When she found herself having trouble breathing she practically jumped up from the stool, she was in, and ran out of the kitchen.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 - Revelations**

Leonard sat there stunned, but even in the kitchen he could hear her sobbing, it only took him a moment to decide what to do and he quickly got up to look for her. She was in her bed, sobbing into her pillows her body shaking almost uncontrollably, it hurt Leonard's heart in so many ways seeing her like that. He slowly sat on the bed and took her into his arms, she offered no resistance and was soon sobbing against his chest. Leonard knew to let her get it all out, so he just held her and rubbed her back, slowing feeling her relax more and more, until after about 15 minutes she stopped entirely.

"Leonard I need you." Penny voice was muffled and cracking from her crying and her face being buried in his chest.

"I'm here don't worry. You'll always have a Leonard, no matter what happens." he tried to soothe her.

"No Leonard, I need you….you Leonard."

Leonard looked down at her confused. "I don't understand?"

Penny sniffed, trying not to cry again. "I killed my Leonard inside, the last year has been hell for him…..and me. I have hate myself and my life since I cheated on him. Watching him die inside was the most horrible thing I could ever imagine, I didn't want to go on."

Her last words caught in Leonard's mind and suddenly something inside him got scared. He put his hands on both her shoulders and pushed her off him till he could look in her face. "What do you mean, 'I didn't want to go on'."

Penny tried to look away, but Leonard grabbed her chin and made her look at him, she gave up and just told him. "I tried to commit suicide, by taking pills and alcohol, 4 months ago. Leonard was on a one week business trip, so he never knew and everyone promised to keep it a secret." She gave a sad laugh, no humor in it at all, "I would have succeeded, if my agent hadn't come by to drop off a script and found me before it was too late. It happened the day after he left, so I was back home before he came back. Everyone kept it a secret, even the police, as long as I went for therapy, for my career, my stupid career."

Penny took a breath and continued, "I'm so sorry Leonard, I'm a mess and the last few years you have been the only person to keep me together. I always thought I'd be happy as an actress, but I can't be happy without you. You have always been my rock, the one person I could go when it all got too much, then I cheated and lost you. I lost the man I can talk to, the man who keeps me warm and secure at night, the man who makes it so I'm never alone, the man I love." Tears formed again in her eyes.

Leonard just stared at her, her words where heartbreaking and the thought of her dead was the most horrible thing he could ever imagine, and now he became very scared about her state of mind, the drinking to get to sleep now making more sense to him. "Penny, I had no idea."

Penny immediately started talking, "Leonard, like I told you last night, my being a successful actress, was made possible by you and to reward you, I cheated on you." Penny spat out then stopped for a second and looked at her hands, obviously upset. Leonard just stared at her trying to make sense of what she just said, she kept telling him she cheated on him, he couldn't believe it. Penny continued, "I got drunk out of my mind at a cast party and slept with our producer. It destroyed you Leonard, I destroyed you, the trust was gone, it was like I ripped your heart out." Penny again stopped talking, new tears in her eyes. She never looked at him while she spoke, it was like she was reading it off a page in her mind.

Leonard looked down at his hands, it was just like a story to him, because it didn't happen to him. "I'm sorry Penny."

Penny's eyes shot up to now look at him, "You're sorry! You have nothing to be sorry for, you…..my husband has been the one in our marriage that did all the right things, not me. I am the cheating slut of a wife that ruined our lives after my husband made my dreams come true."

"I mean…..I don't know what I mean." Leonard shook his head, "This is a lot to take in, for both of us." Leonard admitted.

Penny looked at Leonard again, she had to tell him everything, for some reason she had to tell him, "Leonard withdrew after I cheated on him, I haven't been able to talk to him…..you, since then. The embarrassment of finding me cheating, the rumors and the press hinting about the cheating actress wife and everything else just drove him deeper into depression and me too. I sometimes don't know what I am doing anymore, I need my Leonard back, I need my Leonard back to where he is like you are now or if you are him, I need you just to stay the way you are. My life is not the same without him and if I loose you…Leonard….I don't know what I have to live for anymore."

Leonard just held her in front of him by her shoulders just looking at her, "Don't say that. I don't know how I fit in all this, but you can still talk to me, I will always be here for you."

Penny sighed, "Sweetie, I know now that is a promise people can't keep, they may try but life takes control and they end up breaking it. It is just as bad as me saying I would love and be loyal to you forever, when we got married. I have always loved you Honey, never anybody else, but I haven't been true to the loyal part. I am a cheating slut and I will be always have that to remember."

"Penny you can't think that way, you can't beat yourself like this constantly, it happened there is nothing you can do about that anymore, but to let it destroy you is just not healthy…..for either of you. Penny no one is perfect, you made a mistake….okay, I understand, but you need now to make the best of things….again both of you." Leonard didn't know if he was getting through to her.

Penny just stared at him, her mouth slightly open, her breathing ragged, her heart telling her to kiss him, she so wanted to kiss him, but her mind wouldn't let it go, if he wasn't her husband she would be cheating again. So she compromised, putting her head on his shoulder and letting the tears come out again, while softly saying, "Thank you, Leonard." as his hand gently rubbed her back. She relaxed into him as she clung to him, the feeling of him against her all she really wanted in life at that moment, and it wasn't long before her mind relaxed too, the physical tiredness of all that emotion taking over as her mind and body fell deeply into sleep.

Leonard laid back against the headboard and pillows, holding her, he knew she was asleep, but there was nothing in this world that would make him let her go. He felt guilty, he loved holding her while she slept, it allowed him to protect her, keep her safe, but he knew he was taking advantage of the situation with her. He kept thinking about what she said, and he knew now he was not going to let her be alone anymore while he was here, he would become a leech and go everywhere with her, he was not going to take the chance of loosing her. When her husband came back he would explain it to him, Leonard couldn't image any Leonard in any timeline not loving her, so her husband would understand and if he didn't Leonard would make him understand.

He also knew he would have trouble letting her go, when her husband came back, because he felt the same way as her, he didn't know what he would do without her. When he left he would never see her again, because he didn't tell her they could never go back in time, he would never risk changing something that could cause her more pain, or worse something to happen to her. Just this thing with Sheldon changed more than he ever imagined, so he was not going to risk it, when him and Sheldon left they would have to go to the future. He closed his eyes, not to sleep but just to let his senses enjoy this moment, the feel of her, her smell and just listening to her breath, he needed to remember every detail, because it might be the last time he ever got to hold her.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon and Amy woke up about two hours later, he was a little stiff from falling asleep on the couch, but amazingly he felt rested. He quickly used the bathroom and then Sheldon went back into their bedroom, to wait for Amy, who had gotten in the bathroom after him to shower. He wasn't sure now what to do, so he found himself just sitting on the bed waiting for her, until she joined him a few minutes later. Amy came in smiling and giving him a kiss, he had actually expected that, it was amazing how easy he had adapted to kissing her again, even enjoying it.

"Did you rest well?" Sheldon asked her after their lips separated.

Amy smiled. "I really did, I didn't sleep that well without you last night, so that nap was refreshing. Thank you, Honey."

Sheldon nodded, "Pregnant women need all the rest they can get, so I'm glad I could help." He noticed Amy's smile get bigger, and she leaned over and kissed him again.

Sheldon liked it, so he put his hands on her hips and pulled her down next to him on the bed so the kiss would last longer. Sheldon felt her arms encircle his neck, then her fingers in his hair, so he wrapped her arms around her pulling her closer, until he felt her right breast, the softness of it, squeeze against his chest, as she partially turned more towards him, it was a wonderful feeling. They kissed for a few minutes, then slowly broke apart, just looking into each others eyes, Sheldon was a little giddy, "If that is my reward for letting you nap on me, you are welcome to do that anytime you want." he said with a smile on his lips.

Amy's eyes twinkled, at least he thought they did. "I will remember that, but you know you can have anything you want, Honey."

"I'll remember that." he teased back.

They looked at each other for a few more minutes, before Amy spoke again, "Well, I guess I need to get dressed, unless you want me to just take this robe off and get in bed with you."

Sheldon hadn't he thought she was nude under the robe and suddenly got scared, kissing and cuddling Amy was something he thought a lot about in his timeline since he lost her, so doing it now wasn't so hard. However coitus was another matter, he couldn't just do that, not yet, he composed himself the best he could before he spoke. "I'm sorry we better get dressed, I need to see Leonard this afternoon." He could see a little disappointment in her eyes, the twinkle had left, but she just nodded and got up.

Sheldon stayed on the bed, he needed to find out what he normally wore now, so he decided he needed to find a way to ask Amy without suspicion, who was now standing in front of the closet trying to decide on something to wear. Sheldon immediately noticed how neat the closet looked and realized in this time line there was still a lot of things that hadn't changed, which was comforting to him, as he thought that maybe he would be able to figure his system without her help. He was going over all this in his mind, when Amy seemed to find the clothes she wanted and shed her robe, exposing her nude body to her husband. Sheldon lost all thoughts in his mind at that moment, mesmerized by the nude goddess before him, her milky white skin, full breasts, round buttocks and the expanded bump forming her belly just screaming how fertile she was, Sheldon swallowed hard.

Sheldon was about to panic, and his pajama pants were getting tight again, he had to get out of there, not because he didn't want to see Amy, she was beautiful, but because he had lost complete control and his mind was overloading. Sheldon quickly stood up, "Amy I'm going to get a shower now." as he quickly moved out of the room.

"Okay Honey, do you want me to lay your clothes out." She responded.

Sheldon breathed a sigh of relieve, one for now getting out of there before he self destructed and secondly because Amy now solved his what to wear problem. "Thank you 'DR COOPER'."

Sheldon heard the giggle in her voice, "Your welcome 'DR COOPER'." Sheldon couldn't help but smile, Amy was amazing, and Amy was his wife, his smile getting even larger.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 - Sheldon's Plan**

Penny woke up to her phone ringing and picked it up after it had rang about four times, seeing it was Amy, so immediately answering it as she thought about what Leonard had said about Sheldon. It surprised her it was Sheldon that answered, but she was not surprised he wanted to talk to Leonard. "Leonard its Sheldon." Penny then handed Leonard the phone, who woke up to the phone ringing too.

"Yeah, Sheldon?"

"Leonard we need to talk. I think we need to go to Cal Tech."

"Okay, that is probably a good idea." Leonard wanted to discuss plans anyway with Sheldon.

"You need to pick me up." Sheldon whispered so Amy didn't hear.

"Okay Sheldon, Penny knows where you live. I will see you in two hours."

"Can't you come any faster?" Sheldon wanted to get out of the apartment before he did anything wrong, he needed to think and he now knew that Amy running around half undressed, was not conducive to his thinking of anything but her.

Leonard was surprised at Sheldon's pleading voice. "I can get there in a hour, but no sooner."

"Okay an hour." Sheldon then hung up.

Leonard frowned at the phone, then handed it back to Penny. "I need to pick Sheldon up in an hour, you know where he lives, I think you told me."

Penny nodded. "He still lives in the old apartment." Then she got serious, "Why do you have to pick him up, can't he meet you there?"

"My Sheldon doesn't drive."

"Really, not at all!" Penny was surprised

"Nope not at all."

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon walked to the front door of the Cal Tech building and stopped, "Thank you Penny, we'll call you when we are done."

"Call me when you are done? Bullshit, I'm coming to the time machine with you." Penny responded.

Sheldon looked at her wide eyed then with a frown looked at Leonard, "You told her."

"Of course, I told her, her husband is missing she needed to know. Plus she already knew about the machine, before we got here." Leonard defended himself.

"Leonard whenever you are around her, you think with your little head instead of the one on your shoulders." Sheldon then looked at Penny, "Penny there is nothing you would understand or could help with, so why don't you just come back later."

Leonard shook his head, "Sheldon she has a physics degree, she understands a lot more than you think."

"She has a what!" Sheldon looked back at Penny, "You have a physics degree?"

"Yeah, genius, I have a physics degree and I'm not going anywhere, so lead the way or just follow me and Leonard. Oh by the way, my husband helped build that time machine and told me all about it during the last couple of years, so it is more mine than yours you….you time interloper." Penny was a little angry.

Penny pushed by Sheldon and headed into the building followed by Leonard, "Give it up Sheldon, she is still the original Penny, she is going to do what she wants."

It was a couple minutes later they went through the doors to the room the time machine was in, everyone of them stopping to take it all in. Now that it worked it was hard not to be in awe of it, even Sheldon amazed at what it could do. It was a couple minutes before Sheldon remembered what he wanted to talk to Leonard about. "Penny can I talk to Leonard alone."

"No." was all she said.

"Sheldon anything you want to say can be said to Penny, too." Leonard said in support of her.

"Why Leonard." He then looked at Penny, "What do you think we are going to do?"

"I want to make sure you look for my husband, like Leonard promised, so I am not leaving." Penny stood there glaring at him.

"Look for your husband? Didn't Leonard tell you he is probably either dead or nonexistent now." Sheldon blurted out.

"Sheldon please, you don't know that for sure." Leonard tried to soften Sheldon's harsh words to Penny.

"What are you talking about?" Penny's voice cracked. Then she looked at Leonard, "Leonard what is he talking about?"

Sheldon continued, "Your husband either became nonexistent when he entered the energy conduit, because the original Leonard was there or it is possible they combined with us. But if that didn't happen, then he ran into trouble because we have no marker signal for him to come back. Considering where he went, it is just as likely he was eaten as it was that he survived the trip."

Penny had a couple tears in her eyes, "No! Leonard is that true?"

"Sheldon there is still a chance he went through time and is alive with a marker malfunction only." Leonard said

"That is possible, but highly unlikely, the more likely scenarios are the ones I already described." Sheldon sounded like he was lecturing Leonard as he talked down to him.

"Oh My God." Penny now had tears dripping down her face as she went out of the room to find a bathroom.

Sheldon waited a minute then looked at Leonard, "Good she is gone."

Leonard looked at him in anger, "Did you do that on purpose!"

"I just told the truth, is it my problem that she can't take it. Anyway we need to talk." Sheldon said matter-of-factly.

Leonard was torn over going to Penny or listening to what was so important that Sheldon had to say. "Quick tell me what you were going to say, I need to go after Penny."

Sheldon shook his head, "Leonard she is not your wife and she knows it, I don't know what you are planning to do. I have not told Amy and she thinks she is my wife, so I have no such problem."

Sheldon was only making Leonard angry. "Dam it Sheldon tell me what is so important or I am leaving now."

Sheldon nodded, "I am not leaving this timeline and I do not plan on finding our alter selves, I am claiming this Sheldon's life, since I am the original Sheldon Lee Cooper."

Leonard looked at him dumbfounded "You just can't take another mans life."

"I beg to disagree." Sheldon confidently stated. "We are the originals, they can be considered placeholders that were here until our return. Since Amy and Penny are originals, it makes only logical sense that originals stay together, so the new Sheldon and Leonard are not needed anymore. It makes perfect sense, the copies are erased."

"Are you listening to yourself, you are acting like God, deciding who gets to live and who gets to die." Leonard now just stared at Sheldon.

Sheldon slowly nodded in thought then looked back at Leonard. "In a way you could say I am their creator, I made the machine and I set things into motion, so I can decide what happens to them."

Leonard looked at Sheldon for a couple of moments, not really believing what he just heard from him. "Sheldon you are crazy, you can't do that and as soon as I get back we are going to try and find them, but right now I'm going to look for Penny." Leonard then turned and left the room.

Sheldon just watched him leave, mumbling under his breath, "I am not crazy, my mother had me tested." then he turned to look at the machine's computers. He walked over and turned them on and waited for them to completely boot up, he would show Leonard who is crazy, he planned on making sure Leonard didn't do anything with the machine, that he, Sheldon Lee Cooper didn't approve of first. He would make sure Leonard would not be able find them, Sheldon was staying and no one, including Leonard or Penny was going to stop him.

Leonard went up the stairs and to the nearest bathroom he could find, hearing Penny crying as soon as he got to the door. Even though it was a woman's rest room he didn't hesitate to walk right in, mainly because it was on the weekend and they hadn't seen anyone since they arrived. Penny was at the sink, both arms holding her up as she sobbed, her body trembling, he seemed to be hurting her all the time today and it really made him feel bad. She had a lot of problems and he seemed to just be making her life worse, he really needed to find her husband and leave, also, maybe he could talk to him and help things before he left, too.

"Penny?" he softly said.

Penny turned to look at him, at first he thought she was going to run to him and hug him, but then her face changed, "YOU LIED TO ME!" she then backed away from him.

"I didn't lie to you. Sheldon made it sound worse than it is. You have a science degree, the probabilities he referenced were based on the limited data he had, there is so much we don't know, so the confidence level for those probabilities is very low, think, you know that." Leonard explained.

Penny just stood there looking at him, breathing heavily, her crying now stopped. "Is my husband dead?"

"I don't know and Sheldon doesn't either. He has much of a chance of being alive as being dead right now, we need to search and find out." Leonard answered.

"Schrodinger's Cat, he can be considered both alive and dead at the same time, we need to open the box." Penny softly said.

Leonard's eyes went wide as he looked at her. "That is exactly right!"

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny and Leonard walked back into the room to find it empty, both surprised that there was no sign of Sheldon. "Were did he go?" Penny asked.

Leonard looked around the room in disgust, he figured after what Sheldon said, he probably took off, to not fight with Leonard and maybe Penny, and to get his way. "I don't know, he might have left."

"Leonard, the power module is gone." Penny now informed him.

"Huh….I'm sorry what did you say?" Leonard now looked back at her.

"There is a power module that goes over there." Penny pointed to a place on the power converter system, which had a empty cavity, where something obviously was at one time.

Leonard shook his head, then looked at her after seeing the part location she was pointing at. "How did you notice that and how do you know it is a power module?"

"I was here when my husband installed it…..it was the last time we were here before we…." Penny got quiet for a moment. "I guess I was thinking about him and I just looked there. I looked there when we first got here and it was still there. Sheldon had to have taken it. Do you know why?"

Leonard nodded, "He told me he was staying here."

"Huh, what does he plan to do when the other Sheldon comes back?" Penny looked at Leonard then slowly nodded. "Leonard what else did he say?"

"He said he wasn't going to look for them. I thought I would have to do it myself, but he obviously didn't want me bringing them back." Leonard explained. "We'll have to get another power module."

Penny practically fell into a nearby chair, putting her head into her hands. "Leonard, why is he doing this?" Penny voice sounded extremely sad and tired.

"Penny he has all he wants, the Nobel, recognition and Amy, he had none of that before, so he wants to keep it all."

"So he will sacrifice my husband and his friend Sheldon, so he can be happy?" There was a hint of disbelief in Penny's voice.

Leonard nodded, "Yeah."

Penny looked up to Leonard, small tears on her cheeks, "Leonard can I really trust you?….What are you planning to do?"

"Try to find your Leonard and Sheldon and bring them back. That is always what I was going to do, I never told you any different. Have I done anything to make you think I was acting in a way to do something different?" Leonard stared at her.

Penny sighed, "No." and slowly shook her heard, then looked at him "But you have been a little secretive about things with me." It was a statement, not an accusation.

"Penny, I don't have a lot of answers, so I don't want to make things seem bad when I actually don't know and like I said before Sheldon doesn't know either. We are just going to have to try and see what happens, that is the truth." Leonard explained, "So we are going to have to get another power module. Do you know enough about it so we can replace it?"

Penny sadly nodded again, "I know a lot about it, that is the problem. My husband said they needed a power module that could regulate a huge amount of power and not be as big as a house, so they got the module from NASA, it is the one like they use on the space station. I don't know if you can get another one."

"Oh." Leonard now sat in a chair too. "How did he get it?"

"He knows someone from NASA, from when they put his laser in space." Penny explained.

"Oh." Leonard thought things just got harder.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 - Delay**

Sheldon had grabbed the cell phone and keys, he had left the day before in the time machine room, when he took the clothes of the other Sheldon. The phone unlocked after the third password he tried, again happy he seemed to think the same in this timeline as the previous timeline. He then went outside the building and made his way across campus to a place where Amy could pick him up, calling her as he walked. "Amy can you pick me up?"

"Honey, did Leonard and Penny leave you there?" Amy sounded concerned.

Sheldon thought fast. "Yes, they seem to be acting a little different today, they were talking and then they then just left the building." he lied, glad she couldn't see his face.

"Oh really, they were talking, that is a big improvement between them. Okay Honey, I'll be right there. Where do you want me to pick you up?"

Sheldon looked ahead, "The student union."

"Really, that is across campus? Is everything okay?"

Sheldon thought a moment, "I went looking for Leonard and Penny only ending up here."

"Oh, okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Be careful okay, I love you." Amy then responded.

"I love you too." Sheldon responded then hung up.

Sheldon sat down on a bench outside the student union, since it was on the other side of campus, he thought Penny and Leonard would not think to look for him there. He also needed to rest, the power module in his bag wasn't too big but it was really heavy and well built, which meant it was probably expensive, at least Sheldon hoped so. He was going to check out how easy it was to get another when he got back to the apartment, because if it was too easy, he would have to do something else to stop them.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny picked up her husband's phone and keys from the table and then looked at them with mixed emotions. Her and Leonard hadn't said a word to each other for several minutes and Penny found herself hating the silence between them, for the last year she had lived in silence with her husband. When she saw the phone, it had given her an idea to start up a conversation with him, "Leonard, you need to take these, especially the phone, so I can contact you when we are apart."

Leonard looked at the keys and phone in her hands and slowly nodded, taking them and pocketing them. He was at a little loss at what to do now, Sheldon's sabotage of the machine stopping them from starting their search. "Penny we need to get a power module before we can search for your husband and Sheldon."

Penny looked at the computer table, "Can't you search with the computers?"

Leonard shook his head, "The machine works at a greatly reduced power to search for the markers, it is like a radio receiver when it does that, but to do that it still needs power and to get power it needs the power module." Leonard sighed. "Also if we still can't find markers, the alternate plan is to send cameras back to search, but the machine needs to work to do that, also. Without it working we can't send any search and rescue equipment…or people."

Penny just stared at him, going over his words in her head to understand his explanation, then she finally nodded. "Sheldon pretty much shut us down."

Leonard nodded, "I will need a new power module…" Then Leonard thought of something, "Or I will need to get Howard's help."

"Howard, really, you think he can help?" Penny looked at Leonard confused.

Leonard nodded, "Howard is an excellent engineer, he can design and build anything, so maybe he can build us a substitute power module." Leonard then looked at her. "Penny it is not over by a long shot, we are just delayed a little, but again this is time we are talking about, no matter how long our delay, we can still get there on time."

Penny just nodded. "Okay."

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

While Sheldon waited for Amy, he devised a plan to delay their physical contact for a little while longer, so he did not make a mistake with her. He thought if he could just get enough time, to get use to living with her, he could maybe perform coitus, at least he hoped he could, because right now if he tried he knew he would run. So as Sheldon waited he rubbed his eyes hard, purposely making them red and inflamed, so Amy would notice and believe he was sick.

It was less than a half hour later that Amy pulled up in the car they had driven yesterday. As soon as Sheldon got in the car, Amy looked at him with a surprised expression on her face. "Sheldon, Honey, what happened to you?"

"Amy, Leonard was sick, and now I am sick too." Sheldon then forced a sniffling sound out, to support his lie and take attention from the small ticks that were still trying to come to his face.

"But you were fine this morning?" Amy couldn't understand what happened.

"I know, but then I was around Leonard…and Penny, who is sick too." Leonard lied.

"Really, but you never go around sick people."

"I made a mistake Amy, and they took advantage of me. They are obviously too concerned about themselves and care nothing of my well being." Sheldon argued.

"Really, Penny and Leonard?" Amy was having trouble understanding that Penny and Leonard would do that to Sheldon.

"I don't know what to tell you Amy." Then Sheldon faked a cough. "Amy we need to go to the drug store and you need to stay a good distance from me so you don't get sick and take a chance with the baby."

Amy didn't like how this was all happening, but he was right, they needed to think about the baby first. She ran her hand on her belly for a second then looked at her husband. "Okay."

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny and Leonard were making their way to the car, after unsuccessfully looking for Sheldon in the building for almost a half hour, when Penny's phone started to ring. However, when Penny pulled it out of her pocket, she gasped and had to hold Leonard for support. "What's wrong?" Leonard was immediately concerned.

Penny looked at him, her mouth open, but no words coming out for almost a half minute before she spoke. "It is a text from my husband!"

Leonard grabbed the phone from his pocket and held it towards her, "I thought you said this is your husband's phone?" Penny just nodded, which confused Leonard. "What does it say?"

"It says go to my office, and there is a DVD in the safe that I need to see and then it has the combination." Penny looked from the phone to Leonard. "That's it."

"Do you know where his office is?" Penny nodded. "Well we better go." Leonard and Penny then walked back to the building.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Amy walked around the drug store with Sheldon, watching him pick up things for his sickness, while staying a little ways from him. She couldn't help think something wasn't right, things seemed not to make sense right now, how her husband was acting and this sickness thing. However, she thought, why would he deceive her, it didn't make any sense, so she dismissed it for now and followed him while he got what he needed.

Sheldon wore a surgical mask on the way home, he told Amy is was to protect her and that it was difficult to talk through it, so silence dominated the car. Sheldon using the time to think about his next steps, because even if he pushed this sickness thing, it would only give him less than a week. Plus he had work to do, so he had to convince Amy he was sick but not sick enough to go to work on Monday morning. Sheldon still had till tomorrow to come up with a plan, that would keep Leonard and Penny from making him leave, while he settled into this new timeline with Amy, he definitely had a lot of thinking to do.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leslie had also gone to the drug store that Saturday, although earlier in the day and for something else. She had been sick yesterday morning and this morning too, so she had to eliminate one possibility before she went to the doctor. Leslie now waited, sitting on her bed, for the three minutes the pregnancy test required. Time seemed to take forever and each second passed by like a minute of its own, as she wondered how he would take it if she was pregnant. She was still thinking that when her phone timer went off and Leslie turned the three sticks over, they all said the same thing.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27 - The Truth**

Leonard and Penny when to the Physics Department offices, Leonard's keys opening all the doors, then to his office. The safe was easy to find and the combination was correct so it didn't take long for Penny to find the envelope addressed to her with the DVD in it. They then quickly powered up her husbands desktop computer and inserted the DVD and waited, Penny softly gasping when her husbands face immediately appeared on the screen.

Leonard stared at the screen too, watching the man who looked almost exactly like him, stare back at them, obviously trying to compose himself. He was a little thinner than Leonard, actually sickly thin, and his skin was pale, he actually didn't look well, but there was something else different about him that Leonard couldn't place. Looking more at him Leonard noticed even his eyes had a sunken in look to them with dark areas below them, like he hadn't slept well for a while, he looked like Penny had told him earlier, the life seemed to be draining out of him. Leonard immediately felt sorry for the man, then wondered if he could ever look like that too, his thoughts quickly extinguished as the man began to talk.

"Penny, I hope you got this before you listed me as missing, or at least before anyone found Sheldon's time machine. Penny I also hope you already know the machine works, because it does and it is the most evil thing devised by man, it really needs to be destroyed. I have put a logic bomb into its computer which will go off 1 hour after activated and I will tell you how to do that later, then when the software is destroyed, you will need to contact my old friend Howard Wolowitz and have him take it apart. Please don't tell anyone about it, not ever Howard, it is too dangerous and if used could destroy mankind. But again that is for later."

The man, who was Penny's husband, stopped talking for a few seconds, obviously composing his thoughts. Penny looked at Leonard in confusion, not saying a word, as they both looked at each other. They both turned back to the screen quickly when the man started to talk again.

"Penny first understand that I love you and have always loved you, but I have been deceiving you for years. I hope you have already met up with a Leonard who looks and acts like he is a copy of me, because Penny….." the man down looked down at his hands obviously trying to get strength for what he was going to say next, which worried Leonard. "Penny that Leonard, is not a copy, he is actually me."

Penny eyes shot around to look at Leonard in shock, while Leonard just sat there with his mouth open, staring at the man on the screen.

"Penny, you need to know the obvious pain, I had the last year, has been more about my knowing I would be leaving you and never seeing you again, not really that much about what happened with you and that man. All I have to say about what happened a year ago, is it happened and I never stopped loving you after it happened, it is over, don't worry about it anymore, please. I wish I could have told you what was going to happen, but I couldn't, you would have stopped me, and not being able to tell you was a major part of my depression. It actually ate into my soul, the need to leave, the lying, what I had to do before, actually this DVD telling you about it all gives me some comfort that I can finally tell you the truth. But even though we both suffered, I had to get you use to me not being around and the last year of avoiding you, because of my guilt, was the only way I could think to do it. I'm sorry for the pain I caused you, but I think some day you will understand. At least I hope you will, please don't hate me." Penny mouthed, 'I love you', as she continued to watch the man on the screen.

"Let me try to explain what happened. We were married in the original timeline, you were pregnant with our child, and we had a great group of friends we hung out with. This whole thing that changed everything started with Sheldon and an obsession he had all his life with time travel and String Theory. Sheldon obsession caused him to leave Amy to dedicate his life to science, plus his Nobel Prize, so when it was stolen from him by a Dr Raymond Lewis, he sort of cracked. He had built a Time Machine in secret and his String Theory work made him understand time travel, so he decided Lewis was to blame for loosing his Nobel and Amy. So Lewis had to pay, and he went back in time to kill Raymond Lewis' grandfather, so Raymond Lewis was never born. He wasn't really thinking right and he picked a critical time in history, just before D-Day in World War II. He had to be stopped, the risk of changing history was too great, so I went with a special team of soldiers to get him back and we also sent airplanes to protect Lewis' grandfathers plane. We succeeded in stopping him but when we tried to go back to our time, that is when the problems happened and we ended up in this new timeline. Our timeline was now corrupted and didn't exist anymore, this new one took over and we really didn't belong here. However, after a little while being here, Sheldon found he had everything he wanted so Sheldon didn't want to leave. Since that timeline's Leonard, Penny's husband, and their Sheldon went back into time before we arrived, my Sheldon wanted to leave them or get rid of them and take over their lives. So Penny and I proceeded to try and find Penny's husband and their Sheldon, then I planned to leave with my Sheldon, but with Sheldon not agreeing, that's when everything went bad, really bad. A lot of things happened, but the worst was…" Again the man looked at his hands trying to compose himself before he continued. "Penny ended up being killed and I ended up killing Sheldon." Penny's husband then stopped talking and just sat there staring at them. Penny and Leonard just looked at each other in shock, not knowing what to say.

The man on the TV screen started to speak again after a few moments. "I hope I am with you now Penny, because if I am not you need to get me and let me see this." The man then took a breath, obviously to steel himself to continue, "Okay, after Sheldon was gone, I sat around a few days just thinking and decided had to go back, I couldn't live with what happened." the man's voice got very low as he looked down at his hands, "I couldn't let Penny die." The man was silent for a whole minute, before he looked back up from the screen back at them, "So I went back in time to just before Penny moved into the apartment building, to make sure we never met, I didn't want her to die and I figured I had give her up to see her live. The Leonard that existed then, I drugged and brought him back for a week till I found a place safe then sent him into the future, he is okay, but probably doesn't know what happened to him, I think he will adapt, he never met Penny so he never will know what his live could have been like." The man was silent for a few seconds while he thought, then started to speak again. "I then avoided Penny, but after a week we ran into each other and I don't know why but fate put us together again. I think part of it was I weak, I had lost her only a few months before and I wasn't over it, because I found I didn't have the strength to dismiss her when she was trying to be friends with me. So we became friends, which then became boyfriend and girlfriend, finally getting married, like my previous timeline, everything really happening fast because I cheated, I knew her too well and I didn't make the mistakes like when I met her the first time in my timeline. Also I knew the future, so I made a changes to her life by making sure Penny got her wish, to be a actress and star." The man stopped again looking guilty.

After a couple seconds the man started again. "I also 'Accidentally Found' Sheldon's time machine." the man made quotes in the air when he said 'Accidentally Found', then seemed embarrassed at what he did and continued, "So I made him include me in the project so I could start this process to destroy the machine and stop Sheldon. It took years to get it together and the machine to finally work then came the day when you got here and I left. I took Sheldon back to prehistoric times, where he can never return and change time, plus I sabotaged the markers so we can't return, this timelines Sheldon is out of the picture." He stopped for a few seconds and picked up a water bottle to take a drink.

The man then began again. "I need to tell you how bad things can happen, so you understand why destroying the machine and keeping Sheldon from building another is so important. Let me start with a girl named Alex, she was an PHD at Cal Tech and our friend, but her grandfathers brother was on the airplane that Sheldon tried to kill Lewis in. He died and sent a chain of events into play that resulted in Alex's father never meeting her mother, so Alex was never born, she was wiped out of existence."

"Oh my God!" Leonard gasped, now understanding why Penny never knew Alex, she didn't exist anymore.

The man continued. "The changes impacted our friends too. Penny and I got together earlier so we spent less time with Howard and Raj, so one day a left turn in time happened that should have been a right turn. Howard and Raj were driving Howard's mom to the store and had a car accident, they were hit by a drunk driver and Howard's mom died. He completely broke down and we couldn't help him, he became an introvert and not even Raj could get through, plus he never met Bernadette. Raj ended up going back to India and was forced to marry by his parents, his marriage was bad. I tried to do something but was not successful with them, the only person I could help was Sheldon, I put him on the dating site and found him Amy. Since there was just me and Penny and we got married early, Sheldon and Amy got closer faster and got married in this timeline. Bottom line, there were a lot of big changes to our friends by time traveling." He took another drink of water.

"But those were actually small changes, though a personal ones. There were bigger changes, Major Lewis, the man Sheldon tried to kill, became a hero and got a Congressional Medal of Honor for that day, ran for the Senate and was a politician all his life. He was the Senate defense committee and pushed every new advanced project especially the military converting to jet aircraft. His son became a politician too and was Secretary of Defense further pushing his fathers ideas and he had a son Raymond, who didn't get a PHD in Physics but got one in Political Science and became a politician too. Leonard went to school with him and they became friends, so one of our old friends now is Raymond Lewis, if you can believe that. Leonard he made sure the Government funded our laser research and is part of the reason we have a Nobel Prize." The man stopped for a few seconds to let that all sink in.

The information was overwhelming and Leonard just sat there in stunned silence. Raymond Lewis was his friend, that was truly crazy he thought.

Penny's husband put the bottle down and continued. "So now the rest is up to you, you need to prevent your Sheldon from doing this again, because with his eidetic mind he can easily build another machine unless you find a way to stop him. Then you need to destroy the current machine, it can never be used again, it is just too dangerous." The man then sighed and just looked at them again.

"I have created a sort of time loop right now, if you fail, you can do what I did and go back in time to the point I did and start over again. There are a list of coordinates in the envelope to help you and some other information on the program for the machine. I'm not a hundred percent sure if there will be a Leonard there for you to send away, like I did, but it is the safest way to go back, it worked okay for me. But you have to understand every time you go back you change things, that is why the machine is so dangerous, just going back changes things." He stopped talking again to obviously compose he thoughts.

The man now started again, "Penny, tell Leonard what you want him to do, if he has to go back again, if anything happens. Tell him if you want to meet him again or not, it should be your decision this time. I'm sorry I didn't give you that choice before, I'm really sorry, I'll live with that the rest of my life." The man shook his head and looked down at his hands again thinking.

The man then looked at them. "If you fail again then when the next Leonard comes back again he will have your DVD and my DVD to tell him what I am telling you so he can try and stop Sheldon again. However if you succeed, you can stop the loop and just live there the rest of your life. There will be no machine and no one will move in time again. I know it sounds crazy, but believe me everything I am telling you is true."

The on screen Leonard then went on for another hour explaining what him and Penny tried to do to stop Sheldon and what went wrong. Then he gave Leonard a lot of information about what his job entailed at Cal Tech and what he was working on currently. By the time he was done, Leonard thought maybe he could fool people until he adapted to this life and had a better idea on what he had to do about Sheldon and the machine. However, Leonard still didn't know if he really belonged or what Penny thought and wanted, she just sat there listening the whole time not saying a word.

The man on the screen then sighed again and Leonard knew he was coming to the end of his talk to them. "Penny, this is important, like I said before the man that came to you and hopefully is with you now is me, before I came back and met you again, he is me and your husband, only younger." Leonard now knew what was different about the man on the TV screen, he was older than him by several years, he could now see it around his eyes now.

The man on the screen continued, "Penny, I love you and always will. I know this all is crazy but I am that man, again I hope he is sitting next to you right now. I was your husband in the original timeline and you married me again in your timeline. I am so sorry to do this all to you, but that man next to you hasn't lied to you, like I have, he is honest and loves you, he is the man who loved you before I became the man I am now. I really think you and me are better together than apart, so stop Sheldon, destroy the machine and live happily ever after together. I know this is so unreal, a fairy tale, but believe me it is very serious, otherwise I would have never left like this, but Penny you didn't loose me, I am sitting next to you." He was quiet for a couple seconds, then looked out at them a tear in his eye. "Good-bye Penny, I love you." He then reached towards something under the screen and the screen turned to static, meaning the recording was over.

Penny just stared at the screen for a couple minutes then turned to look at Leonard, her eyes wide, tears slowly dripping down her cheeks. "Leonard?"

Leonard was so stunned he didn't know what to say, but in his mind and heart he knew he the man on the screen was him.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I find it very hard to write Sheldon. I had all this story written, except for the heavy Sheldon parts before I ever considered posting it. Even then, I still didn't post it till the part with Sheldon in World War II was almost done because it took me weeks to write and rewrite that. So I just want to notify my readers that as I get more into Sheldon parts, I might not be able to post every other day.**

**Chapter 28 - Trying to Understand**

Sheldon sat in his spot using his laptop on the internet, trying to find reference to the power module he took off the machine, but with no luck. The power module, on the machine he built, was built for him by Howard and its large size meant this one Sheldon now had was special, but he couldn't find any reference to it. So he closed his eyes and focused on a mental picture of it he had, because of his eidetic memory, and he quickly noticed the nameplate on its side with a NSN number. NSN meant National Stock Number and that was a way the government identified parts. Sheldon now saw the number in his mind and typed it on the computer, and got the information he had been hopelessly trying to find before, the power module was a part for the international space station. He smiled because he actually thought that was good, he didn't know how his predecessor had gotten it, but Leonard would have a very hard time to get a replacement, so Sheldon now had complete control over the machine.

He looked up from the screen to see Amy moving around the kitchen, making soup for him, he couldn't help a smile from forming under his surgical mask, at how thoughtful she was. But she was always that way, even in his timeline before they broke up, always thinking about him, and a warm feeling seemed now to go through his whole body as he realized she would always be with him now. Amy turned suddenly and caught him looking at her, so she gave him a smile, "Soup will be ready soon Sheldon."

"Thank you Amy, it smells good." Sheldon then turned back to his computer screen.

Amy looked back at the soup, her mind going back to her previous thoughts, something seemed wrong. Right now Sheldon seemed normal, and this morning when he fell asleep with her on the couch he seemed normal, but between those times he was definitely acting weird. Like right now, although he seemed okay, he had a cold, and Sheldon being sick really tried her patience to no end, he acted like such a baby, but now he wasn't, weird. Drinking alcohol from the same bottle with Leonard was weird too, along with wanting Leonard to pick him up today, Sheldon always took the car, so he purposely wasn't dependent on Leonard, weird. Then there was this morning after she showered, he liked to rub her baby bump, and usually if she was just in a robe, he would pull her into his lap and slip his hand in to rub her bump, but today he didn't, weird. Amy was confused and she hoped in had something to do with being sick, because if it didn't, it would begin to really worry her.

Sheldon had now changed his subject of interest on the internet and soon found what he wanted, as he read the different reasons men don't want sex during their wives pregnancy. He thought some of them would maybe work with Amy and he noticed that a lot of the problems happened after 20 weeks which was were Amy was now. However as he continued to read all the reasons for his plan to fake a problem, it became a real fear as he read of some of the messy reasons men didn't like it, discharges, possible blood, lactation and other bodily fluids that he could run into. Now Sheldon was actually grossed out, it was one thing to kiss and sleep with Amy, it was another to pass those bodily fluids, he wasn't ready for that.

Sheldon was so engrossed in his research, he didn't even notice Amy coming towards him with his tea and the frown on her face as she realized he was interested in his computer and he was ignoring her. She actually didn't say a word and just went around the back of the couch to see what was so interesting to read that would keep his brilliant mind so occupied. Sheldon was actually working down the list of items that made men not want sex during pregnancy and had just opened the section on men being repulsed by the weight gain and bloating the mother goes through, when Amy started to read over his shoulder.

"SHELDON!" Sheldon almost peed himself, Amy's outburst so startled him. He turned in his seat to see his wife wide eyed staring at him.

"Do you really think I'm fat and disgusting." It wasn't a question, it was a statement, and Amy didn't give him a chance to try and figure out an answer. Tears immediately started to pour down her face, as she quickly put the tea cups on the kitchen counter and practically ran to their bedroom, slamming the door. Sheldon picked up her sobbing, with his excellent hearing, only moments later.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny and Leonard found the lock, her husband on the DVD told her about, in a box in the safe, it was something neither of them had seen before. They then quietly closed up the office and went to room in the basement to install it on the door knob to the room. The lock was quite unusual and had obviously been specially made for this room and this project specifically because on its surface it had been engraved to contact Dr Leonard Hofstadter for removal. It clamped completely over the door knob and had no key pad or key lock to put a key in, you had to have a special transmitter to lay against it to open it, it couldn't be picked or opened without it. Leonard was amazed his other self had made such a thing and then realized his other self must had planned this for a long time.

With the lock installed they were done at Cal Tech so Leonard and Penny walked to the car, the envelope and DVD in Penny's hands. It was more than extremely awkward, both of them had hardly said a thing to each other since the DVD ended. So sitting in the car for several minutes, doing nothing but just staring ahead, while still in the parking lot, was now the new normal for them the last couple of hours.

Penny out of the clear blue turned to Leonard, "Pinch me."

Leonard looked at her confused. "Huh."

"Please pinch me. This has to be a bad nightmare." Penny pleaded, he would have thought she was kidding, if she didn't look so serious. Leonard complied with her request and pinched her hard. "OW!" Penny rubbed her arm.

"Now you." Leonard put his arm near her. "OW!" He knew she pinched him harder than he did her. However, it did take some of the tension out of the air between them.

"Leonard what is real?" She honestly asked him.

"I don't know. I guess based on what he said…I said, this timeline is the current real timeline." Leonard shrugged.

"Leonard I have been thinking about this since we watched my husband on the DVD. What my husband said that happened and what you told me about your timeline and I realize that life was taken away from me twice. I can't help feeling that I was killed, my memories taken away for these new ones, are you going to do that to me, again?" Her voice started to crack, Leonard knew she was holding back tears.

"I'm sorry Penny, I don't know how to fix that. I understand if you hate me." Was all Leonard could think of.

Penny went silent for a minute, then without looking at him, "I don't blame you Leonard, you were just following Sheldon to keep him from destroying everything, then according to my Husband, Sheldon was the one who blew me up, so if I blame anyone it is Sheldon." She then looked at him again. "But I need to know are you going to kill me again?"

Leonard stared at her a minute, the last thing he would ever want to do was kill her, he would die first himself before he let anything happen to her, but she was right they had killed her twice before. It was like she was almost a Phoenix rising out of the ashes of all the mistakes Sheldon and him made in time travel and he hated himself for being the cause of all her pain. "Penny, I'm sorry. I will do everything possible so that you won't die, either physically or mentally, and this timeline won't change. That is all I can promise."

The drive back to the house was uncomfortably quiet again, between Leonard and Penny as he drove, Leonard and her not saying a word all the way till he parked the car in the garage. "Leonard I have been thinking and I what to know what you are you going to do?" Penny finally asked.

Leonard looked at her like she woke him up from a trance, "I don't understand"

"What are you going to do about what my Husband….or you said, in the DVD, are you going to do something to Sheldon?" Penny now turned in her seat to completely look at him. Penny looked at him a little wide eyed and Leonard was amazed how innocent she looked. "Is there anyway you can fix everything?" She finally asked.

Leonard shook his head, "No. I have been thinking about that too, ever since I arrived in this timeline, there is no way to go back and fix things. First traveling to a time period only gets you in approximately the right place by up to a week or two. So I would have to keep going back over and over to get to the right time after Sheldon arrived back in time the first place, to prevent this from ever happening. That many travels back in time is too high a risk that I would change something again, like he said in the video. Even if I got the right time in the first place, I can't go back because I didn't leave originally till over a month and a half after Sheldon left. So if I went back with Sheldon, I would run into myself, there would be two of us and I can't even imagine what would happen then. So there is no going back for me and we can't trust Sheldon going back himself, not after this, so we have to go together." Then he looked directly at her, "Also Penny you said that you didn't want your memories taken away again, if I went back and changed time, that would happen again."

Penny nodded, "That was also something I was thinking about, what if we could go back to what things were originally." Penny looked away then down at her belly, touching it. "It is just now that I know all this, I wonder." She turned back to him, "So what are you going to do?" Penny cautiously asked, she suddenly thought that maybe she wasn't going to like his answer.

Leonard turned from her and just stared out his window for a minute, "To tell you the truth Sheldon and I are misplaced now, we really don't belong in this timeline at all, present or future, and there is no way to go back, it would probably be better we just ceased to exist."

Penny now looked at him in shock. "What are you saying?"

Leonard looked at her, "Nothing really, just talking out loud, I don't know what to do, it seems we are just screwing up things again and honestly it would be better if we just weren't here and the machine was gone, so time could…..settle down and work normally again."

Penny stared at him, as he sat there not moving, now just looking down at his hands. "Leonard we need to go inside, we can't stay in the garage."

"You go ahead, I just want to sit and think for a little while."

"No, you come into the house, you can think there, I don't want you alone out here." Penny insisted, she then reached over and took the keys from the ignition.

Leonard looked at her with a sad smile on his face, "Don't worry I'm too much a coward to do anything to myself."

"Leonard, I mean it, get in the house now." her voice cracked she was about to cry.

Leonard looked at her seeing her eyes water, he was doing it again getting her upset, that seemed to be the only thing he was good at with her, so he just nodded, "Okay." and opened the car door to follow her inside.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29 - Regrouping**

Sheldon's first instinct was to call Penny or Leonard to find out what to do about his problem with Amy now. Penny seemed to know the best how to handle Amy problems and Leonard sometimes had some good advice about things that guys should do. But he couldn't call them because…..because…..he sat there a second trying to classify them and the only thing that came to his mind was that they were his mortal enemies now. They were villains to his hero and they were planning to take away all that was good for him, they would need to be stopped. The problem was how to stop them and Sheldon's mind immediately focused on that problem, forgetting about Amy.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny grabbed Leonard's hand and lead him into the house to the couch in the living room and made him sit down, while she sat in a chair next to him. She was concerned about him and the longer she was with him she could feel the bond between them getting stronger, especially now after the video they watched. Her husband was gone, well maybe not exactly gone, he was sort of sitting there with her, a younger version of him, like the man he married, before she married him. But then she was married to him before, twice, so she must be married to this man, wasn't she? It was so confusing, but no matter how confusing it was it now scared her when she thought about losing him and she didn't really think she would be able to function anymore if that happened. As she now looked at him, her heart started to break, he seemed so lost, so unsure, she knew he was struggling with what he just told her in the car and she hated to see him in so much pain. He was hurting and Penny was hurting, comforting each other seemed to be the only thing that made sense to her, so she stood up from the chair, she was in, and went to the couch.

Leonard's head turned to her as she sat down next to him, close, as close as they were in bed last night, and she put her arms around his neck. He offered no resistance as she pulled his head on her shoulder and started to rub his back, she just wanted to make him feel better. However, Penny had not really understood the way it was going to make her feel, the warmth and comfort it gave her, was incredible. She had so missed this over the last year, and their hug went on as she closed her eyes letting her other senses take him all in, the feeling of him, his smell, the texture of his clothes, skin and hair. Then it hit Penny, she now understand why she felt this way, she could feel it in her bones, this man truly was her husband and the thought both scared her and comforted her. She still loved her husband, the man they just watched on the TV screen, but this man in her arms was the same man, it just seemed right to hold him and be in his arms. Penny still needed time to fully adjust, but she wondered if she could fully accept who he was, the man she loved.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

It was the sound of the bedroom door opening and the bathroom door slamming that finally made Sheldon realize he had forgotten completely about Amy. He looked at the time, it had actually been a half hour since she got mad at him, and he got up from his seat to turn off the soup that had actually had simmered itself partially away in the pan. He had to talk to her, but he had to also put his plan with her into effect, so like a man condemned to the gallows he slowing walked up to the bathroom door.

"Amy, I'm sorry." He tried to sound sincere, which wasn't as hard as he thought, because he was sorry he upset her.

"Sheldon, I don't want to talk to you." Amy said through the door, her voice cracking.

"Never Amy?" Sheldon asked.

"No not never." Amy confessed, "You hurt my feelings Sheldon."

"So shouldn't we talk about that now?" Sheldon knew logic would work with Amy, because she had such an amazing logical mind, it was one of the reason he loved her.

The door opened a little and a red eyed Amy looked up at him. "Sheldon do you think I look fat and unattractive?" her voice small like a child.

This was an easy question, he didn't even have to lie, he just shook his head, "No Amy, I think you look beautiful."

A very small smile tugged at Amy's lips as she opened the door a little more, now exposing herself to him. Sheldon then realized she had changed into her nightgown and had a robe thrown over that, the robe untied and the buttons on the top of her nightgown unbuttoned exposing her cleavage. Sheldon's actually felt his breathing change to almost panting, as he took a quick swallow to try and calm himself. "Amy can you come out to the couch and talk."

It was an hour later, both of them on the couch, that Amy looked at her husband not sure if she should cry or just accept that he would probably be that way all his life. "Sheldon you mean all this was because you were finding it increasingly harder to have sex with me because of fear of hurting me or the baby?"

Sheldon nodded. "I'm sorry Amy, I am embarrassed and I didn't know what to do, so I tried this ruse at being sick, hoping to find something on the internet that could help me get over it. I was on the site looking for reason, going down the lists of causes, when you saw the screen. It was never about how you looked it was about my fears, only me."

"Sheldon, you can't hurt the baby or me, how we do it, I checked and talked to the doctor." Amy reasoned with him.

"I'm sorry Amy, I can't help how I feel. I'm scared." Sheldon was telling the absolute truth then, he was terrified of having coitus with Amy, so his sincere face made Amy just sigh.

Amy looked down at her hands. "You will still hold me, won't you, and sleep with me?" Her voice almost cracking.

Sheldon knew he just got away with his lie and he needed to comfort her and give her something too, so he took her into his arms and put his head on top of hers. "Of course Amy, you are beautiful and I love you, that will never change." He did like holding and smelling her, he felt he would have no trouble sleeping with her especially if he knew coitus would not occur.

Amy melted into his comforting hug, she felt so bad right now, him holding her was the only thing that was keeping her from crying. After all their time together and all the work they had to do to get this point, where they could get married and have complete relations, now this was extremely hard to take. Especially since only 4 days ago, he seemed to have enjoyed their love making together, him even initiating it, this change was so strange and the only word that came to mind was 'weird'.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

She didn't know how long they held each other, it just felt so good to be held by him, Penny couldn't let go, but after a while they separated and just looked at each other. "Leonard, ever since you told me everything, I kept thinking you reminded me of my Leonard when we first got married and now the man on the video, my husband, says you are. I don't know. It is a lot to grasp, just like that." Her voice soft, almost a whisper, but they were so close he heard her fine.

Leonard just nodded, this whole thing was crazy to him too, he couldn't even imagine how she felt. So Leonard just put his hand on her upper arm to give her a little squeeze to comfort her, but no sooner then he touched her, her eyes shot up to his. He swallowed hard as her eyes bored into his, it was like she was searching his soul and they stayed that way almost a whole minute just staring at each other. Then Penny surprised him, by slowly looking away and standing up from the couch, walking over to the cabinet that Leonard knew held her alcohol, but stopping when she got there.

She let out a soft sigh, "This is hard Leonard, so hard. This whole time thing seems so unreal and confusing, I'm still not sure I understand it all. Seeing that video, my husband and hearing his story, it is crazy, but I know it is true, and then there is you." Penny turned to him, staring at him again, as tears started to form in her eyes. "I love my husband, even though he lied to me, I still love him and you are him, I know that and I want to love you too. But I can't get this feeling that maybe it is somehow cheating and I don't want to do that again, ever." Penny sniffed a couple of times. "I don't know what to do."

Leonard got up and walked up to her, taking both her shoulders in his hands so he could look at her. "Just take your time and don't worry too much about it, when it comes to this, there is no hurry, don't let it upset you. You're a smart woman, you'll find your answer, you always do." Leonard gave her a small smile, which she returned, her tears now stopped. Leonard thought that maybe her feelings were good, because he couldn't really see himself staying in this timeline, he couldn't help feeling it wasn't his and he didn't belong.

They stayed in that night, ordering Pizza and just sitting around talking and eating. Penny told him everything she knew about his job at Cal Tech that evening, trying to help Leonard prepare for when he went to work on Monday morning. They just sat on opposite ends of the couch the whole evening comfortably talking, getting to know each other.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon was alone in the laundry room looking at his tablet while he laundry, feeling comfortable in some of his old habits that seemed to be still part of him. He got lucky again, he had asked Amy if she wanted to go out to eat and she told him she would cook instead, reminding him it would drive him nuts if he missed laundry night. Sheldon now had some time to himself to think about his problem with Leonard and now Penny, he would need to do something about them.

His first idea was to talk to them, but he soon realized that wouldn't work, because he already knew Leonard didn't see things his way. Besides he never was able to compromise with lesser minds, especially when he knew he was right and it impacted what he wanted. No it wasn't worth wasting his time on, he would just have to do something more drastic, because of the unreasonability of the two people he was dealing with.

There was always getting rid of them both, them not being there to make trouble for him would solve his problem. Leonard, Sheldon thought, would never be missed, after all he was just a mediocre scientist at best, so who would miss him. Penny however was a bigger problem, she was a celebrity and the mindless masses cared about celebrities, for what reason he still couldn't understand, so her missing would raise a lot of questions.

Maybe he could make them go away without them leaving, by correcting their minds, he thought. Amy always said a hot needle in the right place would make them happy all the time, so if they were corrected, they wouldn't be a problem for him. The only problem with that idea was he would need Amy's help and he did not think getting her involved or telling her the truth was beneficial to him at this time, so that idea had its problems too.

Sheldon kept thinking until his Laundry was done, with no solid conclusions, which surprised him because he was usually better at this. He needed to get back upstairs, because Amy would have dinner done now and he was actually hungry, the work and thinking using a lot of his energy today. So Sheldon headed back to the elevator with his laundry to eat dinner, he still had a lot of thinking to do before the weekend was over and he had to see Leonard again on Monday.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I had a little change in how I wanted this story to proceed, I may even change the ending, I already wrote. So I'm having to rewrite parts of it and will probably not be able to give every other day updates, but I will try my best to update often.**

**Chapter 30 - Comfort**

Sheldon arrived upstairs to find Amy done with dinner and putting it in bowls, as soon as he saw what she had prepared, a smile formed on his face. It was what his mother called his comfort food and she was right because every time he ate spaghetti and cut up hotdogs he felt good inside and better overall. He tried to quickly put their clothes away, however, he didn't know for sure where Amy's went so he had to search the bedroom to figure where everything went. He found when he finally got back to the living room, Amy had everything on the coffee table already, ready for them to eat.

"Amy this is nice, thank you." Sheldon couldn't help but smile.

"There is a National Geographic special on Australia, I thought we could watch." Amy responded.

They sat on the couch and started to watch the show quietly as they ate, it was very pleasant for Sheldon and relaxing, extremely relaxing, making him feel a calm that had alluded him since he arrived in this timeline. He also found he was starved, and quickly gobbled up his favorite food while he watched the documentary that happened to be full of Koala Bears. The food and drink, the cute Koalas of the documentary and sitting in his spot soon had their effect and Sheldon just sat there content and happy. It actually surprised him when Amy got up to collect the dishes and take them to the kitchen, making him jump up to help her.

They didn't say much while cleaning up and after Sheldon got back down in his spot, content again, Amy came over to sit in the middle cushion to join him. It was then when Sheldon noticed the space between them, at first not concerned about it when they ate, but now noticing how Amy was avoiding contact with him. Suddenly Sheldon's contentment seemed not to feel as good as before as he remembered her warm soft body against him this morning and how he missed it. Cuddling was something he could do and he actually wanted to cuddle Amy now, so he slowly moved his hand to hers.

Amy's eyes shot to his for a second, but then she seemed to calm and scooted close to him while he put his arm around her. She got herself comfortable under his arm and took that arms hand, weaving her fingers in his while pulling his hand, with hers, to lay on her baby bump. She let out a content sigh and relaxed into him, as she pulled her legs onto the couch and pulled the blanket over her feet. Barring her bladder betraying her, she was set for the night, comfortable and content, well as content as she could be after what Sheldon told her earlier.

Sheldon, once over the first few seconds of physical contact, liked Amy tucked into him, the warmth of her body, her intoxicating smell and the softness of her, feeling extremely comforting to him. Her softness was something he particularly noticed now, as she had his hand in hers on top of her baby bump, underneath her pregnancy enhanced breasts, which Sheldon's hand was now tucked underneath. Sheldon looked down at her and got a view that both surprised him and sent a rush of warmth through him, as Amy's robe was open and her nightgown, unbuttoned to her breasts, giving Sheldon a view, he was now memorizing. Amy was beautiful and now the more time they spend together, acting like Mommy's and Daddy's did, Sheldon started to feel desire for her, that he never felt before.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Awkward was the only way to describe it, they were both tired, but they still talked, neither of them wanting to suggest going to bed. They both didn't want to leave each other's company, the need to be with each other stronger every hour they were together. It had been a tiring day for both of them full of confusion, fear and emotion, that had sent both their systems into overdrive, draining all their energy. Penny sat on one end of the couch, her feet under her and a throw from the couch over her as she continued to talk to him, her head resting on the back of the couch. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, the thought of going to bed alone, something she was trying to avoid at all costs.

But someone had to say it, because they were both too tired to go on. "Penny, maybe we should go to bed now." Leonard yawned as confirmation of that thought, and Penny found she couldn't stop yawning herself.

Will a pang of regret Penny responded, "Okay." Then got up when he did, heading to each of their bedrooms to get ready to go to sleep.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon saw Amy's eyes fluttering when the documentary ended and he looked back down at her. She looked like this morning, just before she fell asleep on him, and he knew they both were probably conditioned to go to sleep now, because he felt tired too. "Amy, we should go to bed."

Amy looked up at him a little concern in her eyes, "Okay….Sheldon are we…."

Sheldon shook his head, "I think that since everything is in the open now, I will feel more comfortable doing everything else we normally do Amy." Amy gave him a small smile and a nod.

Thirty minutes later, Sheldon was in bed on his side and on his back waiting for Amy. He had taken a shower and Amy was just getting out of the shower, he knew she was taking to be clean for him, which he appreciated. Amy entered the bedroom and took off her robe, again making Sheldon silently gasp at her, the soft think cotton of her night shirt hugging her curves, the top unbuttoned to allow him to see her cleavage. However that only lasted a couple seconds as Amy turned out the light and crawled into bed with Sheldon, as he laid there.

The next few moments were awkward, Sheldon didn't know what to do and Amy seemed nervous on what not to do, she was used to sleeping her body being in contact with his all night. Sheldon finally decided he had to make the first move, so with determined arm movement, he put his arm out to above Amy's head, which she lifted to allow him to put his arm around her and pull her in. Once Amy understood what he was doing she moved in close putting her head on his chest and her arm over the top of him, getting herself comfortable sleeping half on top of him. This was completely new to Sheldon and he couldn't help the natural reaction to tense up, which Amy felt in him and made her lift her head off him.

"I'm sorry Sheldon, does this bother you too?" Obvious sadness in her voice as the thought of not being able to sleep touching him, slight upsetting her.

Sheldon, started to relax, forcing himself to remember she just came out of the shower, he never got sick from her and he liked how warm and soft she was. With those thoughts put on the fore front of his mind, he pulled her tighter to him, relishing the feel of her soft warm body against his. "No Amy, you're fine." Sheldon then started to instinctively rub her back in comfort.

Amy sighed and put her head down, again getting comfortable, the warmth of Sheldon's body and his soothing hand rubbing her back putting her to sleep instantly. Sheldon stopped rubbing when he felt Amy relax and could tell she was asleep, it actually made him happy that she was relaxed and asleep. He also found, as he laid there, her being pressed close on him, made him feel good, her there was soothing to him and as he thought about her, sleep took his mind over too.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny crawled into bed after quickly getting ready, trying to find a spot, on the way too big bed, that she felt comfortable, but not succeeding. She was really tired, but couldn't sleep, it was a feeling she knew well over the last year and it was a condition that could only be solved one way. She knew if she just had a couple drinks she would be able to sleep, but the guilt of what Leonard said to her last night still sat in her mind, even though she knew if she didn't drink she would lay awake all night. But Penny needed to sleep, so she slipped out of bed and left her room.

Leonard lay awake, unable to sleep too, he too was having a hard time finding a comfortable spot on the bed, plus he couldn't get the video out of his mind. Leonard felt displaced, but the man in the video, him, told him if he fixed the problem he should stay and be with Penny. Leonard started to wonder, if he stayed longer would that displaced feeling go away, his older self seemed to imply that wasn't a problem. Leonard was mulling that over in his mind when he heard his bedroom door open and in the darkness he barely saw her outline, "Penny?"

"Leonard, I need to sleep with you." Penny stated, it was not a question.

Leonard felt the bed move, the covers pulled over her then felt her body scoot close to his. "Penny are you sure?"

"Please, just hold me and let me sleep with you. I can't sleep alone. I started to head to the home bar, but decided to come here instead. If you want me to not to drink at night, then you need to let me sleep with you."

Leonard sighed and pulled her close to him to spoon her, holding her suddenly made him feel relaxed and the exhaustion of the day take over his body. He didn't know who fell asleep first, because they both seemed to relax into each other after he pulled her close to him. All he did know was when he closed his eyes, sleep was welcomed and it soon took him away.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon woke of first that morning, noticing that some time during the night him and Amy moved and he now was on his side with Amy wrapped in his arms, spooning her. His face was touching the top of her head and he could smell her shampoo along with the warmth and softness of her body. She felt so soft, he thought, then his eyes got wide, as he realized his one hand was on inside her night shirt cupping her bare breast. His first reaction was to pull away, but then he realized Amy's hand was over his holding his hand there, he didn't know what to do. So he just forced himself to lay there not moving and as time went on, he found it easier and easier to lay in that position until a point came he found it comforting to hold her like that.

Amy started to wake up shortly afterwards, naturally pulling his arms tighter around her for his warmth and comfort as she woke up. She finally noticed where his hand was as she fully came awake and smiled to herself, that he actually did feel some kind of attraction to her, otherwise why would he cop a feel of his sleeping wife in the night. However like every morning now, her first thoughts were getting to the bathroom, to relieve the pressure on her bladder. "Honey, I have to get up and pee." She said softly

Sheldon let her go immediately, "Of course…..sorry."

Amy got up and just smiled at him, unbuttoning a couple more buttons on her gown, to the top of her baby bump, exposing most of her breasts to him. "Honey, you know you can have me anytime you want."

Sheldon swallowed, unable to take his eyes off her chest, who would have thought he was a breast man. "Amy, I thought we talked about that last night."

Amy's smile diminished, "I know Sheldon, but you can still touch me….if you want. I like you touching me."

Sheldon looked up to her eyes, the thought of touching her did seem like something he would like, like how he like hand holding with her. "Okay."

Amy's smile got a little bigger again, "Okay, well I have to use the bathroom now." She then turned and left the room. It was funny how once she left his sight, Sheldon felt lonely with her gone and he found he actually missed her warmth next to him. He found he wondered if she would come back to the bed and let him hold her again, because right now that was the only thing he wanted to do.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 - Doubt**

Leonard woke up shivering and disoriented, plus terrified, he was having trouble catching his breath too and the only thing keeping him from screaming her name was that he had her crushed against his chest, holding her so tight it actually scared him. He tried to steady his breathing, and relax his hold on her, as the bits an pieces of the dream came back to him, the nightmare of loosing her again and knowing it was forever. He didn't think he could do it again, loose her, and he didn't want to live in a world without her. He fell in love with her months after meeting her and when they got married he became lost in her, she was part of his soul, she made his life worth living, he'd die without her. The horrible dream and her in his arms now was too much for his emotions, and as tears he couldn't stop fell down his cheeks, he prayed to any God who would listen, that if he was really to loose her, that his live be taken now while he had her in his arms.

Penny felt him relax, she had been awake since he pulled her tightly to his chest, holding her like she had never remembered her husband doing before. She couldn't wake him up, because to be honest to herself she didn't want him to stop, so as long as she could breath, she laid there being squeezed in his arms. However now she was worried, she knew he was awake, but his breath was ragged and she thought she felt moisture on her neck, that with his head so close to hers, could only be from tears. She loved him so much that his pain was her pain and in her mind her thoughts were to immediately make him feel better. Penny rolled in his now loosened grip and scooted up a little so she could be on his level, seeing his face in the pre-morning light, her heart breaking at the grief on it. They just stared in each others eyes for a couple seconds, then Penny brought up her hand to wipe his tears away, it was so hard to look at him, so she kissed his cheek and curled tight against him. Penny put her head into his neck, giving him another small kiss, she didn't dare look at him again, otherwise she would turn into a blubbering mess, her own tears now only being held by extreme will. Her mind was so conflicted, but one thing was clear, she couldn't loose him, life would not be life without him, he was everything she ever wanted in a man, a husband, a mate and he was the Prince Charming she dreamed of as a girl, she just didn't know until she met him. She felt his arms encircle her again as she lay on his chest, and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips, because if there was anything in life that she wanted, it was this, him with her always.

Penny and Leonard fell back to sleep, the comfort of being together, holding each other, making them both relax and the fears go away. It was three hours later when they finally stirred again and Penny woke to the wonderful feeling of Leonard gently stroking her hair. "I like that." She whispered.

"Good morning sunshine, did you sleep okay." Leonard was trying to sound cheery, the thoughts of a few hours before still in his mind.

"Sunshine? Is that a nickname?" Penny teased.

"Sorry, old habits." Leonard felt bad about using a nickname with her that he used with his wife.

Penny scooted up to look at him, "No, I like it." She said and then immediately regretted what she had done. They were in bed, warm and comfortable, and looking at him made feelings she had learned to suppress over the last year, scream to come out. This was not a need to comfort him, but something more and she felt it was too soon, she still had doubts and was still confused, it was not the right time to take the next step, no matter what her husband said on the video. The problem was she was paralyzed looking at him, her mind torn, one half of it telling her to stop and the other wanting to take the next step with him.

Leonard was lost in her eyes and it took his a couple of seconds to realize how dark her eyes had gotten, they seemed to have dilated before his eyes. He wanted her so badly it hurt, but he also knew, he was already in this so deep with her, that if they took the next step, he would completely loose himself with her. He fought to get a grip on his emotions and found some strength deep inside him, he didn't know he had, a strength he knew was based on his need not to hurt her. So Leonard tore his eyes from her, "I'm a little hungry, how about you?"

Penny had been only a moment from kissing him, not on the cheek, but really kissing him, when he broke the spell between them. "Yeah, I guess I'm hungry."

Leonard didn't trust himself right now, "It is 10 AM, so it is really almost brunch. Do you know any good places that serve brunch?" He thought them in a public place would be better right now.

"Yeah, I do. There is a hotel that has a nice brunch on Sundays, just 10 minutes from here." Penny responded.

"That really sounds nice." Leonard lied, laying in bed with Penny sounded nice, going to eat brunch out was just a necessity.

"Yeah it does." Penny forced out, acting happy. The thought of getting out of the bed and leaving his warm comforting body, seemed like punishment.

"Okay, then lets get ready and go." Leonard forced himself out of bed, then offered his hand to help her out of bed, too.

It might have been that this Leonard was stronger than her Leonard or maybe she was weak kneed still from moments before, but as soon as she was pulled up she started to fall. Leonard immediately grabbing her around the waist while she wrapped her arms around his neck, stopping her fall, but now leaving them holding each other, their faces only inches away, their breaths warm against each others cheeks. They stood their staring at each other, both afraid to move, afraid what moving would do and where it would end up.

Penny knew now she was in trouble, her resolve from before gone, Leonard could do anything to her now and there was no way she could resist him, her body again screaming its need for him. The thought of kissing him, and letting what would happen, happen, the only thought her mind could concentrate on at that moment. But Leonard again saved her, his arm coming up to cradle her head and slightly turn it so he could kiss her cheek. Penny sighed, then buried her head in his neck, putting a small kiss there while they now hugged each other. They stood like that for a few minutes before finally separating to get ready for brunch, both of them lost in their thoughts as they went to get ready.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon ate breakfast with his wife, it felt so easy to be with her and Sheldon thought back to before and wondered again, how could he have made the biggest mistake in him life by breaking up with her. He was actually enjoying being intimate with each other, and instead of hating it, he found it was comforting and a little exciting. He liked waking up with her and he liked her being there all the time, she was like having a friend that was always there with you, who cared for you and would have your back. She was perfect, and this life he found himself in was perfect, it was everything he dreamed of, even more, because he had Amy to share it with.

It was only about 30 minutes after they cleaned up after breakfast when Amy casually addressed a normal domestic concern that had Sheldon having to cover for himself again. It seemed that Sunday was their day to go to the grocery store and Amy asking Sheldon if he wanted to come, made him have to make a hard decision. Sheldon still couldn't drive and he knew she would expect him to drive her to the store and back, but at the same time the thought of her going alone bothered him, he really didn't know what to do. "Amy do we really need anything that can't wait till next week?"

"Sheldon, Sunday is always grocery day and I have the list. It even has some things you wrote down we didn't get last Sunday." She looked at him confused and concerned, like it was something he should obviously know.

Sheldon just nodded, "It is just that I have some work to do today and I have to have it done before I go in tomorrow."

Amy cocked her head while she looked at him, something didn't seem right, "Really you have work to do and you waited till Sunday to do it?" Amy knew that Sheldon was not one to procrastinate unless something was up.

Sheldon wondered if he could use the lie from yesterday to save him, "I'm sorry Amy, but with all that happened yesterday, I guess I was worried more about our relationship than my work."

Amy immediately felt bad, "I understand Honey, I can get the shopping done. You catch up on your work, okay." Amy then leaned over to kiss his cheek, and rub his upper arm, whispering, "We'll be okay."

Sheldon just nodded, he was so happy inside she accepted his lie, her kiss and arm rub didn't even concern him or he thought maybe he was just was getting use to her touching him and kissing him. It actually felt nice when she did that, plus it was so easy to see she cared for him, her feelings for him right up there with his mothers and grandmothers. He always let them hug and kiss him, and now Amy doing it just seemed as comfortable as them doing it. It was probably because he loved all three of them so much.

"I'll head off now Sheldon." Amy grabbed her bag and started to the door.

"Wait Amy." Sheldon walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips, which made her smile. "Be careful and call me when you get parked so I can come down and bring what you bought up, okay."

Amy nodded with a smile. "Yes, I will." She then walked out the door to the elevator.

Sheldon stood in the empty apartment and immediately missed her, everything seemed so empty without her there. He found himself just standing there thinking about her, until he finally accepted she would be gone a while so he went to sit at his desk. He had some more research to do, so he opened his laptop and started to look at every file and email on it, to learn about the Sheldon Cooper who lived in this timeline, whose live he had now taken.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny stood in her bathroom leaning on the sink trying to get back in control of herself. The smartest thing for her to do right now would be to put a little distance between him and herself, at least till she could control her emotions, but she knew she wasn't strong enough to do that. She felt she was being given a second chance, and the man in the guest room was so much like Leonard when she married him, she just wanted him to take her, so she could be his again and him hers again. She was already missing being around him, and she closed her eyes trying to remember every detail of just a few minutes ago when he held her. Her mind only coming back to the present when she heard the shower come on in the quiet house, to remind her she needed to get ready. So she quickly stripped off her pajamas and got in the shower knowing the faster she got ready the sooner she would be with him again.

Leonard stood in the shower, letting the hot water flow over him, his mind too thinking about minutes before when he had Penny in his arms. He now questioned his whole rationale from making Sheldon leave this timeline, because for the first time since he got there he understood why Sheldon wanted so much to stay. Sheldon wanted the love of his live back and Leonard was now feeling the same way, he wanted Penny back. He really didn't know what to do, he felt so confused and which way was the right way anymore and he just felt he needed time to think.

**A/N: I'm sorry, but I didn't realize what I did to my Leonard character until I reread some of the last few chapters I posted. It never occurred to me that I would basically put him in the same position as I did with Sheldon, in the beginning of the story. I took his wife and child away, his friends and his life, until now like Sheldon, he has nothing anymore. I didn't see that before, when I drafted the story, so I am going to have make changes on how this story goes in upcoming chapters, because Leonard is going to have to deal with the same things Sheldon is dealing with, except with a Penny that knows everything. This chapter is part of the change.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32 - Howard**

They were both nice to each other, but it was still awkward, both of them making sure they didn't touch each other before they had time to think out what was the right thing to do. But even then, because they couldn't help that they cared for each other, they quickly got comfortable with each other again, even if it meant keeping a little distance between them. Penny knowing she needed time to think and him touching her would make her mind go blank, turning her to putty. Leonard's thoughts more basic, he didn't know what was right to do anymore, everything was getting more confusing each day and he just needed everything to stand still for a while so he could think things through.

"This is nice, Penny." Leonard then put another forkful of egg into his mouth as he looked around.

Penny nodded and gave him a small smile. "We use to go here every so often….It is nice." Penny then looked down at a piece of fruit stabbing it and bringing it too her mouth.

Leonard now looked at her, "I didn't mean to stir up old memories. I'm sorry."

Penny shook her head, "It is not that. I don't know exactly how to say this." she sat there a second trying to compose her thoughts while Leonard sat there silently waiting for her, "Leonard, I know you are my husband. I understand enough from my studies and what you…he…both of you told me to know that you can easily be the actual man I married, only before we actually married." She wanted him to know she just needed some time to adjust, she wasn't rejecting him, she just needed to adjust to this new him and she didn't want to loose him. "I'm trying to say that I accept you as my husband, but this has all happened in less that 48 hours and I need some time to adjust. This is huge for me Sweetie, it changes everything, I still don't know how I feel about everything that has happened the last year, I felt that I was loosing everything and without you, I was not seeing anyway out. Now you are here, being the way you were with me, caring for me, it keeps feeling like I've gotten a second change, and I know that is not what it is, but I'm still a little overwhelmed and I just need to sort this all out, you know."

Leonard could hear her voice cracking near the end and her eyes now looked moist, he nodded to her. "Penny take all the time you need to think, I'm a little confused too about all that is happening. But no matter what, Penny remember, the me in the video still loved you and never stopped, and all that stuff that happened before, didn't happen with me, so don't beat yourself up over that stuff anymore."

Penny nodded to him and sniffled once instead of crying. "It's hard, but I will try. Leonard even though I said all that, I do need something from you. I need to sleep with you at night, I can't sleep anymore without you or a couple of drinks."

Leonard smiled, "Then me it is."

Penny bit her lip, "It just has to be sleep for a little while too Sweetie, until I get my head around this. I'm not strong, so you have to be the strong one."

"Penny I promise I won't take advantage of you." He assured her.

Penny looked at her hands. "Leonard, you're not the one I'm worried about. I need you make sure, I don't go over the line. I don't trust myself. I'm still a little bit of a mess."

Leonard nodded, then seeing she wasn't looking at him, he reached over and took her chin lifting her head so she looked into his eyes. "I will make sure we both keep things casual until we both figure out what we need to do. I promise." He then gave her a little smile.

Penny stared into his eyes, the touch of his warm hand on her face sending shivers through her body. She just wanted to kiss him and she knew as soon as she kissed him she would want to bed him, she loved him so much and she wanted him back even more. She now even questioned why she asked him to do this, because she just wanted to give herself to him and drown herself in him, "Thank you Leonard." she whispered. 

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The afternoon just drug on for Sheldon, it felt so different than the afternoons he had spent by himself before this happened. Usually when he had research to do, time would fly by, but today he found no matter how hard he worked the time seemed to drag on at a speed so slow that it seemed to defy physics. He knew he was just being a hippy, but he didn't care, he had missed Amy so much the last couple of years, the loneliness had actually slowly ate away at him. Now having her was like taking a drug and he knew he was addicted, but he didn't care, it felt too good to stop. He got up from his seat and went back to the window to look out, like he had done three times before since she left, he was worried and he wanted her back, he wanted her back now.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

No sooner that they got settled in the car Leonard brought up the subject of the time machine again, "Penny, I'm not sure yet what we should do, but I do know that Sheldon controlling the ability to use the machine is dangerous right now. I need to talk to Howard and have him build a new power module, he built the one for the machine in my time."

Penny nodded, "Do you want to go to his house?"

It only took Leonard a second to decide, "Yes, do you know where he lives?" Right now working on the machine seemed to be a good way to keep his mind off of the woman sitting next to him and his feelings about her.

"Yeah, I think I remember." Penny started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon had stopped working, he couldn't seem to read the words on this laptop screen anymore, his mind kept picturing Amy instead. He now just decided to look around the apartment, he had trouble putting her clothes away last night, since he didn't know where they went, so now alone there for the first time he decided to do some exploring. However Sheldon had only looked around for 10 minutes before he found the photo albums and he sat down in his spot opening the books becoming quickly involved in their contents. Time seemed to now stop as he went through each page, looking at pictures of him and Amy, it was the life he never had before, the life he gave up for science. He saw himself in the pictures, but the man looking back at him was slightly different than him, Sheldon could tell he was happy. The realization that he could have been happy with Amy and still got his Nobel, before Lewis could have published, tore at his heart and dove home to him that maybe he wasn't as smart as he thought.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leonard was nervous, as he lifted his hand to knock on the door, the only thing that was calming to him was having Penny standing next to him. The little he had found out about Howard, from Penny, made him realize he had not been a very good friend, he had sacrificed his friendship with him to concentrate on Penny and although he knew he would probably do it again, it still didn't make this seem exactly right. He waited a few moments and when no one came to the door he knocked again, there was a car in the driveway, so he figured someone had to be home.

Penny and Leonard heard nothing until the sound of the lock opening caught their attention, and then the door opened. "Dr Hofstadter?" Howard greeted them obviously surprised.

The man facing Leonard was paler and even skinnier that the Howard he knew and Leonard immediately felt horrible at what had happened to his old friend. Howard calling him 'Dr Hofstadter' also made him feel bad, Howard never called him by his title if it wasn't to tease him, they were always just Leonard and Howard to each other. "Howard, I can talk with you for a minute."

Howard stared at Hofstadter and his wife for a minute confused and not knowing what to do. They had not really been around each other for years and Howard, like everyone else, had heard that him and his wife were having problems so seeing her here with him was confusing. But Howard was still curious, so he stepped out of the doorway. "Okay, please come in."

Leonard walked into the living room and was immediately struck with how everything seemed the same from when this place had been occupied by his mother. It looked so much like it was from his timeline, it was creepy, and that was what was really concerning, Penny said his mother had been dead for years and yet, everything looked the same, he immediately became worried for his old friend. Penny and Leonard sat on the couch and Howard sat on a side chair just watching them, so Leonard began the conversation. "Howard, I need you to help me with a project."

Howard looked a little bit surprised, "What kind of project?" Coming to see him was unusual, but coming on Sunday was even more unusual, Howard was now very curious.

"I need a power module for a research machine. It needs to handle momentary high power surges for several minutes." Leonard explained.

"I could probably do that, but it would be a little bit large and would probably weigh close to a half ton." Howard explained, now in engineering mode.

"I know you can build it, that is why I came to you. I also know it will be large, but I still need it." Leonard gave him a little smile.

Howard nodded, then decided to ask the question that was bothering him, "Why did you need to tell me this today, instead of telling me tomorrow at work?"

Leonard looked at Penny, then back to Howard, "It was an excuse to come see you and see how you were doing."

Howard looked at Leonard dumbfounded, "Why would you do that?"

"We were friends once Howard, I hope we still are. I know I haven't been a good friend the last few years, but I can change. I want to change." Leonard tried to sound sincere, because he was.

Howard's jaw had dropped slightly as he stared at him. "Umm" he didn't know what to say.

"Howard, would you go to the dinner with us." Penny asked, seeing Leonard give her a small grateful nod.

"I…I don't know." Howard was confused.

"Good, we'll pick you up at 5, okay." Penny didn't want to give him a chance to turn them down.

Howard looked at her, again not knowing what to say, "Okay, I guess."

Leonard did not want Howard to change his mind either, he quickly stood up, "Good, then 5 it is. I have a few more things to talk to you about concerning the project but those can wait for dinner." Leonard offered his hand to Howard, who shook it, a bewildered expression oh his face.

Penny didn't shake hands, so she just stepped over to hug him, whispering in his ear, "See you at 5 Sweetie." then as she pulled away she gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

Howard was standing in his doorway watching them drive away, still touching the place on his cheek where Penny kissed him. He didn't have a clue about what had just happened, but as he closed the door he knew he needed to find some appropriate clothes for dinner tonight. With those thoughts he walked slowly upstairs to his room and to get a shower.

**A/N: The last episode of The Big Bang Theory (episode 8.05) had a scene where the gang tried to understand time travel from the movie Back to the Future. If you watched the episode you can see how going forward and backward in time can be very confusing and cause problems. That is what really happens, it is confusing, not like some Mary Sue story where the hero goes back and makes everything better. That is what I am trying to convey in this story and I am sorry if I am confusing people, but to be a little realistic, it has be confusing. Thanks again for everyone who is ready my story.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 - Bernadette**

Penny drove Leonard to the CheeseCake Factory next, hoping someone there would remember Bernadette and would tell them what happened to her. As they drove, Leonard couldn't get the picture of Howard out of his mind and it hurt him badly that his friend had gotten into such a state. Leonard also knew that it was partly because of his neglect, which made it only worse. He knew he couldn't do anything about what happened to Howard, up to this point in time, but if he could just get him and Bernadette together for just a little while, maybe the two soul mates would find each other. It was definitely worth a try and Leonard was determined to try, with Penny's help.

Penny and Leonard walked in the CheeseCake Factory door together, Penny immediately scanning for anyone she had known, the meeting with Howard making her now wonder too about her friends she left behind. She almost squealed when she saw her old best friend Cheryl and walked quickly over to the register she was standing at. Leonard watched as Penny's friend turned to look at Penny, them both talking for a few seconds, before they both grabbed each other into a hug. Leonard also noticed people pointed towards Penny, while they whispering to each other, he remembered she was a TV star, but he forgot she was a celebrity and could be recognized in public. He decided to walk over to her, just incase she needed him for anything, especially if it had to do with unwanted fans.

Penny introduced him as soon as he walked up. "Leonard this is my very good friend, Cheryl."

Penny then looked to Cheryl. "Cheryl, I don't know if you remember but this is my husband, Leonard."

Penny had said it so casually, it had surprised Leonard and actually made feelings swell up in him he had suppressed from this morning. He quietly watched as she talked to her friend, not trying to make anything about what she had just said. So after a couple minutes, he actually smiled as he continued to watch how excited she was, reacquainting herself with her friend, she was happy and seeing her happy made him happy. That was until the first fan showed up.

"Hi…..um…would Penelope please sign my napkin" the young woman asked him, making Leonard look at Penny, his expression to her asking her what to do.

"Yes,….sure." Penny signed the napkin and gave it back with a smile.

Leonard didn't know what to do, but Cheryl saved the day. "I have a break coming, why don't we got into the employee area where we can be alone."

Leonard and Penny nodded and Cheryl quickly told another waitress she was going to go on break, then herded they both to the employees lounge.

Once away from the public, the girls talked continuously for the next 20 minutes, Leonard doing nothing but smiling as he watched the two friends catch up, both seeming to be very happy to see each other again. Penny especially as she now made arrangements to see her friend again, "So, we are on for lunch on Thursday and I will have VIP tickets at the office for my show's next taping so you can come see it." Penny told her friend, a huge smile on her face.

There were a few girls in the lounge, because it appeared it was close to some kind of shift change, so there were two girls sitting at the other table and one near her locker pulling things out. Leonard notice the girls taking glances at them, really Penny, like they knew who she was but were afraid to say anything. One girl at the table looked at Leonard with questioning eyes and Leonard just nodded to her and smiled, getting the girl to smile and turn to her friend to tell her that the woman Leonard was with was just who they thought she was.

It was then that Leonard interrupted the conversation, "Penny could you ask Cheryl about Bernadette." he whispered

Penny nodded. "Cheryl, do you remember that cute little stacked blonde, Bernadette, who worked with us when I was here?" Penny said quietly to her friend.

Cheryl nodded, then motioned over to the lockers, "That's her over there." she whispered.

Leonard's head shot around to look at the young woman, and suddenly realized that was the girl that had been standing there all along. She looked so different, Leonard knew she wasn't a natural blonde but it seemed weird to see her in brown hair, even though it was probably her natural hair color. Her glasses were different too and she was skinny and pale, like Howard, he thought. "That is her." Leonard mumbled softly.

Penny looked at him and then the girl Cheryl had pointed out. She didn't know Bernadette that well and she thought that looked like her, but she knew she was important for Howard, and Leonard wanted them to meet. Penny jumped up and walked over to the petite woman, "Bernadette it is so good to see you." Penny then hugged a stunned Bernadette.

When Penny let Bernadette go she saw the smaller girl's stunned expression, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I use to work with you years ago."

Bernadette seemed to shake it off, "I'm sorry, I remember, it just has been a long time and you are now a popular actress."

Penny started to remember a couple things about the girl standing in front of her after hearing her voice again. "Yeah but we had some good times. Remember that boring Thursday afternoon when you and me scored every hot guy that came in the restaurant." Penny smiled at her, happy she was remembering some stuff about her.

Bernadette smiled, "Yeah, there were no '10s' that day, I think the best we got was a rounded up '8'."

Penny giggled, then mentioned a couple more things they did, that were coming back to her, leaving both girls laughing. Leonard watched from his seat, impressed by Penny's ability to socialize with her old friends, so Cheryl's next remark surprised him. "It is sad how tough a life she has had."

Leonard looked to Cheryl, "Bernadette?" Cheryl nodded. "Why what happened to her?" Leonard said, now curious.

"She was working for a degree and had finished her Masters, I think its called, working for a Doctor type degree, when her boyfriend got her pregnant, then dumped her." Cheryl shook her head. "It seems all her dreams were crushed then, she dropped out of school to take care of the baby and work here. She has never seemed to have recovered, she is either at work or with her kid, that is why see looks so tired all the time."

Leonard was shocked, Bernadette was a single mother, working as a waitress instead of a successful PHD working for a big drug company. Howard, the person who was suppose to be her husband, a recluse with no life and no future. Suddenly his problems didn't seem as large as they did before, the problems of his friends weighted heavy on his mind.

Penny started to walk back to the table after hugging Bernadette goodbye, Bernadette leaving the room to go to work. But before she got back to their table, she stopped at the table where the other two girls were sitting, signing something for each, then hugging them both before returning to the table with Cheryl and Leonard. Leonard should have realized that Penny had seen the other two girls look at her and notice her. The other two girls got up as soon as Penny sat down and with big smiles on their faces, they gave little waves and a 'Bye Penelope' as they walked out to go to work.

"Did you know them too?" Leonard asked her.

Penny shook her head, "No, but they are waitresses, and working here, I can not have a small place in my heart for them because I know what it is like."

Leonard nodded, she had such a kind heart, it was one of the reasons he loved her and he reached over to pat her hand, which made them lock eyes for a couple seconds. Cheryl brought them back to reality, "Well I better go back to work, I have been on my 15 minute break now for almost 30 minutes." she chuckled.

Penny stood up and grabbed Cheryl in a big hug, whispering to her. "I missed you so much, I'm sorry I haven't been around. That is all different now, if you still want to be friends."

Cheryl broke the hug and looked at her, "I've missed you too and we never stopped being friends in my book."

Leonard could see that both of them were on the verge of tears, they were both so happy. He thought if he didn't do something they would both break down crying any second now. "Cheryl, you will have to go to dinner with us sometime." He was now thinking about Raj and how him and Cheryl seemed to hit it off in his timeline, but it did the trick, as both girls now looked at him.

"Oh, that is so happening." Penny added and got a nod from Cheryl. They gave each other another quick hug the Cheryl went back to work, giving Penny a little wave before she went through the door. As soon as the door closed, Penny plopped back in her chair a sad expression on her face.

"What's wrong Penny?" Leonard was a little concerned.

"I never realized how much I missed them." she said quietly.

Leonard gave her a small smile, "You are both young, you still have your whole lives together to be friends, just don't get too busy again to forget her, like I did with Howard."

Penny nodded, "After I talked to her, I guess I miss Bernadette too." she confessed.

Leonard now smiled, "That is actually great, because in my past timeline, you guys were best of friends."

"Was I still friends with Cheryl?" Penny questioned him

"It is funny but it happened almost the same way, you guys lost touch, but then got back together again. Raj and her were dating before everything happened, you fixed them up." Leonard told her.

A small smile formed on Penny's face, "Cheryl broke up with her boyfriend and hasn't been dating anyone since. Raj is divorced, so…"

Leonard chuckled, "I will check to see if we have any positions for a visiting professor from India. Maybe we can lure him back." Leonard then shook his head, "You are such a matchmaker."

Penny's smile covered her whole face as she stood up and grabbed Leonard's hand, "Come on, I need to see what section Bernadette is working, because we are definitely eating dinner with Howard here tonight."

Leonard couldn't agree with her more, as he followed her out of the break room into the restaurant.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34 - The Real First Day**

Sheldon had gotten nervous after Amy had been gone over two hours, he was worried and having difficulty concentrating on anything but her. He was now sitting in a lawn chair it the apartment parking lot, under an area of shade, waiting for her. Even there he found it hard to read anything on his laptop, the words almost looking like a foreign language to him as him mind kept wandering back to Amy. It was more than her just being gone shopping, it was about how Sheldon now liked his new life and was worried something would happen making it so he would loose Amy again. He almost flew out of his seat when he finally saw their car pull into the parking lot.

Amy put the car in park and shut off the engine, reaching over to pick up her phone and call Sheldon to help her, the knocking on her window almost making her scream, she was so surprise, "Sheldon you scared me."

"Amy where have you been all afternoon!" Sheldon whined.

"Sheldon, if you wanted me to be faster, you should have come with me." Amy was a little mad at him.

Sheldon swallowed, she was right, he should have gone. "I'm sorry Amy, I was just so worried."

Amy looked into his eyes and saw the concern there, she was getting good at reading his expressions after being married to him for two years. It was actually sweet he had been worrying about her, even if it was because of him that she went out alone. "Okay, Honey, can you help me bring things up?" Amy calmly replied.

Sheldon nodded and offered his hand to help her out of the car, then helped her put the groceries into their collapsible cart to take upstairs. Once done, Sheldon grabbed the cart and pulled it to the door, while Amy followed him up to the apartment, after locking the car door. It was after the elevator doors closed, that Sheldon leaned down to kiss her, making Amy eyes go wide and a smile form on her face. "Sheldon, you missed me that much?" She said softly almost in a whisper.

The kiss had been almost automatic, but the next words were something he had been thinking the whole time she was gone. "Amy I love you."

Amy just looked at him, this was not the first time he had told her he loved her, he had said it a lot over the last couple of years, but the heartfelt way he said it now tugged at her heart. "I love you too, Honey." Amy then reached over and took his hand, feeling him gently squeeze hers as soon as their hands joined.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny had made sure they got the right table when they arrived and as soon as they sat down Bernadette arrived to get their drink orders. Everything went great at first then nothing, nothing at all, Howard didn't show any interest in Bernadette and Bernadette seemed too busy to spend much time at their table. When it came to the end of the meal, Leonard and Penny just ended up staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to do to get Howard and Bernadette to notice each other. The drive home, after dropping Howard back at his house after dinner, was full of questions for both Leonard and Penny.

"Well that didn't go too well." Penny summed up the whole night.

Leonard nodded, "I just thought if we got them together, they would just click. Boy was I wrong."

"How did it happen in your timeline?" She glanced at him with curiosity.

Leonard sadly chuckled. "Well you set up a blind date between them and at first it went really bad. They seemed to have nothing in common, as the night dragged on, and we both were just wanting it to end so we could take them both home, declaring failure. Then suddenly they started talking about their mothers and they clicked right in front of our eyes and they pretty much then always wanted to be with each other."

"They bonded over their mothers?" Penny said incredulously.

"You had to be there to understand." Leonard told her

Penny just nodded, "I guess stranger things have happened." Penny thought for a second, "So what do you want to do?"

"I want to try again. Penny they are great together, I've seen them and now they seem to need each other even more, they both need someone in their lives. I can't give up on them yet."

Penny nodded, a little bit touched by Leonard's concern for his friends. It made her immediately think of her friend, "Tell me about Raj and Cheryl."

"Well remember that Halloween party you said we slept together?" Leonard started to tell Penny what happened between Cheryl and Raj, then going over their getting reacquainted in his timeline. He caught her up to the time he left and how they were already living together.

Penny listened intently, "She told me she hooked up at the party to some guy who was awesome, a great listener." Penny giggled. "It all makes sense now, she kept talking and Raj couldn't talk back to her." Penny nodded to herself thinking. "Cheryl was disappointed he didn't take her number." Penny then told him.

Leonard looked at her. "I guess I need to get Raj back to America." Penny nodded.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The next morning Leonard turned off the alarm clock before it went off, he had been already awake for 15 minutes just laying on his back in the bed. He didn't want to move, Penny, who he was spooning when he fell asleep was now sleeping on his chest, and it really didn't surprise him. Many the time he would find her in that position when he woke up in his own timeline, she seemed to flip and just grab on to him in her sleep. Like now, her head on his chest, one arm and one leg thrown over his body, her steady breathing, a sign he knew that meant she was content and comfortable. It was amazing how little things like this were so important and precious when you thought you would loose them soon, because that was how Leonard felt right now. So he just laid there, enjoying the feeling of her so close, trying to capture every little detail of it, not wanting it to end.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Some distance away from Penny's house, Sheldon was just waking up too, as he turned off his alarm clock to not wake of Amy. He was beginning to worry again because today would require him to act like the man he replaced, a man he never met or never knew, and it scared him. Amy worked at Cal Tech, in this timeline, and he thought he could convince her to drive them to work today too, but that part of it was easy, it was when he got there that worried him. There were people at the party he did not know and even the ones he did, he didn't know what they were doing or how he interacted with them. That made it a trap for him, because for everyone he met, there was another chance to make them wonder who he really was and what happened to the man they knew. So Sheldon laid there, Amy's sleeping form against him, wondering what he was going to do.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leonard delayed waking her up till the last possible moment, it was almost impossible for him to break the physical contact they now shared. "Penny…..Penny….I have to get up now Penny." He nudged her trying to wake her.

"Just a couple more minutes." She mumbled, and instead of moving off him, just tightening her grip on him.

"Penny…..Penny…..Please Penny, I really need to get up." He nudged her a little more. He heard a moaning sound from her, then she moved her face to his neck giving him little soft kisses there before drifting off to sleep again. It brought up strong memories for him, remembering how she would do little affectionate things to him, in the morning, when she didn't want him to leave her bed. If this was his timeline and his pregnant Penny, he would have been late for work or not have gone in at all, but this wasn't, so he had to get up. This Penny and him where not intimate with each other and agreed not to be, so Leonard put his arms around her and rolled her off of him, then sat up in the bed, looking down at her.

Penny had been half asleep, warm and comfortable, a relaxed state she hadn't experienced in a long while, so the sudden change when he woke her up made her open her eyes wide. Looking up at Leonard, it took her a couple seconds to realize where she was and who she actually was in bed with, but even then she let a small smile come to her face for the man she was with. "Hi."

"Sorry to wake you, but I need to get up for work now and you were…..were…..anyway I needed to get up." Leonard finally got out.

"Okay. I'm just not use to getting up this early, I usually don't go to the Studio till almost 11. But I can get up to drive you." Penny responded

"How do I get to work, if you don't drive me, do we usually work different days or time." Leonard asked, the whole situation seeming a little strange to him.

Penny smiled and shook her head. "Your car is still at the university, we never picked it up after we left Friday. We have been together all weekend."

"Oh, Okay, so I have a car." Leonard thought a second.

Penny giggled, "Yes you have a car, did you think I drove you around all the time."

Leonard chuckled at the memory, "Like Sheldon."

Penny looked at him confused, "Sheldon drives." Then she understood. "Oh, you mean your Sheldon. You guys drove him around?"

"You did too." Leonard said with a smile to her.

"Really. Wow." Penny then pulled the covers over her and closed her eyes, mumbling. "You get ready, I get up in a minute."

Leonard softly chuckled to himself, some things never changed and it warmed his heart that Penny still acted the same with certain things, like she did in the other timeline. He gently put his hand under her hair till it was just touching her neck, hearing a little moan come from her, he knew exactly where to tickle her. "Come on Penny you need to get up." he said before he started the delightful torture.

"Leonard, Noooo…" She squealed as she tried to get away from him, but still stay buried in the bed. But there was no where for her to go, so she retaliated, she had been married to him for years and she knew his vulnerable spots too, so she attacked. It only to a few seconds for them both to end up rolling in the bed trying to tickle each other, while laughing and giggling the whole time and by the time them were done they were both exhausted. Both of them laid on their backs with big smiles on their faces, trying to catch their breath as the realization of what just happened formed in their minds.

The smile slowly left her face as Penny looked to her side, trying not to move her head, to see the man, whose presence in her life now was capturing her heart. She was still having problems though with fully loving him, the events of year ago still making her cautious about giving herself to him, until she was positive she was doing the right thing. She only knew she had to get up now, because she also knew in her heart that he had only to lean over and kiss her, and she would be his. "Okay, you win, I'm getting up." Penny got up and went to leave for her room, physically forcing herself not to look back at him, so she would stay strong in this battle, in a war she knew she was loosing.

Leonard laid there a few seconds, after watching her go, a empty feeling coming over him as soon as she was gone. He missed the intimate bond he had with her, it wasn't just the sex, it was the kissing, cuddling and the touching, that had always been there between them. He forced those thoughts out of his mind, he was going to be late, and he got up to get ready, he had a lot to learn today.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

"Amy, could you drive today, I have a headache." Sheldon lied.

"Yes of course, you're not getting sick are you." Amy walked up to him to put her hand on his head.

Sheldon was proud of himself because he didn't even flinch, in just two days his missing of her made him welcome the touch of her skin on his. "No, I don't think so, I think it is just stress from this weekend." He was surprised how easy the lies came now, he didn't even feel any twitching in his face, he actually felt calm as he continued to lie to her.

"Okay, you're head is not warm. Let me get you a couple aspirins." Amy quickly turned to go to the bathroom.

Sheldon immediately missed her soft warm hand on his forehead, he didn't even want her to leave the room. "Thank you Amy, you always take such good care of me." He said without even thinking.

Amy stopped at the doorway, just staring at him, his small complement touching her heart and reminding her how much she loved him. A smile quickly formed on her lips. "I love taking care of you, cuddles. Always did and always will, because I love you."

The next words out of Sheldon's mouth were easy, because they weren't a lie, "I love you too….Dr Cooper." Sheldon's heart seemed ready to explode as he watched Amy's smile get bigger and he swore he saw a tear in her eye.

**XxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The beginning of the ride to work started out quiet, until they left through the gate of their property and hit the street. "Leonard, you have a secretary and her name is 'Jeannie'." Penny started to tell him.

"Okay, 'Jeannie', it that short for something?" Leonard asked.

"Well." Penny then sighed. "Her name is Jennifer Stewart, but everyone calls her 'Jeannie'…because she is a beautiful petite blonde who looks a lot like the girl from that '60's' TV show 'I Dream of Jeannie'."

"Really!" Leonard was surprised.

"Don't start with me Leonard." Penny couldn't help being upset, her old insecurities of her husband being around that beautiful extremely friendly girl, coming to the surface all over again with the man sitting next to her.

The turnaround in Penny's manor surprised him even more. "Penny what is wrong?"

"Leonard, that girl is sweet, funny and beautiful, and I can't stand the way she looks up to you. You are with her every day, all day and it drives me crazy, I wanted you to transfer her, but you told me you would have to fire her, and I couldn't tell you to do that, I know I am jealous, but I can't help it…." Penny's voice cracked as she rambled on, regurgitating every thought she had about his secretary.

"Wow" Leonard whispered, talk about a raw subject between them. He wanted to comfort her, "Penny remember, I'm not your husband and….."

Penny's next action surprised Leonard and stopped him from continuing his words to her. Penny pulled immediately to the curb and put the car in park, then rested her forehead against her hands on the steering wheel. "Please Leonard, please give me more time. I know you are my husband, you were my husband in your timeline and you will be my husband if things go the same as before in this timeline. It's just I have to be 100 percent sure, about this, before I can do anything. I can't get a year ago out of my mind, I cheated on you and I still can't understand why I would do such a thing. It is not you, it is me, so please if you love me give me a little time." It took a second for Penny to realize what she said, and she took her head of the steering wheel to look at him, her eyes locking on his.

Leonard was a little stunned, but decided to just tell her the truth, "You know I love you Penny. I have always loved you."

Penny nodded, "I love you too…..you Leonard, I love you. I don't know how but even after only two days, I know it is true."

"I didn't mean to push you, please understand that, it was a mistake. You take all the time you need." Leonard watched as Penny just nodded.

The rest of the trip to work they just talked about unimportant meaningless things like how sights along the way either changed or not from Leonard's timeline. However, when they got to Cal Tech, Leonard was not ready for her to go. "Do you want to come in to get some coffee and a pastry."

Penny smiled at him, "Yeah, I'd like that. Just let me find a parking spot."

"Don't I have a spot you can park?" Leonard asked

Penny giggled, "Yeah, but your car is in it."

"Oh, right." Leonard thought a second. "Can you show me where it is and what my car looks like."

"Yeah, that is probably a good idea." Penny then drove to the closer parking near the building.

"You're kidding me!" Leonard just stared at his car.

"Long story Sweetie." Penny said then giggled. "The short version is after I got my car, your car broke down, it had like 200,000 miles on it. So I took you out looking for a new one, and well, you kept looking at the most boring cars in the world."

"My cars aren't boring!" Leonard tried to defend himself.

"Sweetie they are boring. So anyway, we got talking about it and you got defensive like now." Leonard looked at her and she just shook her head. "So you got mad and bought that. I actually like it and you look way too cute driving it."

"A black Mustang GT convertible with silver strips down the middle. I must be the laughing stock of the university." Then Leonard remembered something, "I can't drive a stick, please tell me it is not a manual."

Penny shook her head, "It is an automatic, and Sweetie you drive a sports car and are married to a blonde actress, who some men find still desirable. Believe me Honey, they don't make fun of you, they wish they were you."

Leonard looked at her, "Oh, sorry I didn't mean to infer that you were not a fox or a hottie. I guess I can see your point."

Penny smiled, "You think I'm a fox and a hottie." He had just told her she was beautiful and she couldn't help how it quickened her heart as she looked at him.

Leonard chuckled, "Yeah." She was always drop dead gorgeous to him.

Penny stared at him for a minute, trying to control her heart and breathing, plus the urge to get in his lap and do him in the car, right there. "Let me find a place to park, before you are too late for work." Leonard just nodded turning his head to look forward again, as he wondered whose eyes were more dilated, his or hers.

**A/N: Busy at work, getting ready for an important bi-annual meeting, so I was preparing briefings this week and next week is the meeting. So updates will not be regular right now.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35 - Unknown Factors**

"Good morning Doctor Hofstadter" Jeannie had a huge smile on her face until she looked a Penny then her big smile slowly dissolved away, "Mrs. Hofstadter." Jeannie acknowledged Penny with a head nod.

Leonard mentally said 'Wow', his secretary obviously did not care for his wife, and Penny's expression made it obvious the feeling was mutual. "Umm, Jeannie, it has been a long weekend, do I have any appointments this morning?" Leonard needed to find out if he had to do something this morning, because he had no idea what his schedule was, and he needed to get Penny away from Jeannie, the tension between them seemed to build every second they were in the same room.

"No Doctor Hofstadter." Again with a huge smile. "You don't have anything till your One O'clock with the board and Dr Cooper."

"Okay, thanks." Leonard switched his bear claw to the same hand, as his coffee, and grabbed Penny's arm to pull her into his office. Once inside the office Leonard sat Penny at his conference table and sat next to her, watching her quietly picking small pieces of her bear claw and putting them into her mouth, a distance look on her face. He just watched her for a couple minutes before he couldn't stand it any longer. "Penny?"

Penny turned to him with a blank expression, then blinked a couple times, and finally with a big sigh leaving her mouth, "Sorry."

"Have you two had a run in?" Leonard looked at her trying to figure out what was going on.

"No." Penny took a sip of her coffee then looked at Leonard. "She has been you secretary for a couple of years, and remember I told you, the last year I haven't been around because of…..you know." Leonard nodded. "Sweetie, it is obvious she likes you a lot and well…everyone here knows what went on, rumors were on the news and everything. Well, they all think I'm your cheating wife, so Jeannie probably sees me as a worthless bitch." Penny now looked away at her coffee, slowly turning the cup in circles in her hand.

"Do you want me to get rid of her?" Leonard didn't really know what to do.

"No, of course not." Penny then sighed, "I just wonder sometimes if anything happened between you and her the last year….I wonder if she comforted you." the last sentence came out as almost a whisper.

"Penny, I have done nothing with her." Leonard hoped she remembered.

"I know…..I don't mean you…I mean other you….I mean future you…Crap, I don't know what I mean, but I know you didn't."

"I bet even in the future...past whatever, I didn't cheat on you with my secretary Penny, so please don't get yourself worked up about it." Leonard wanted to get her out of the funk she seemed to be putting herself in.

"I guess I really know that, I'm the only cheater in the family." Penny softly said.

"Penny your beating yourself up over that too. You have to stop, he…..I told you it was okay, in the video." Leonard tried to reason with her.

Penny now looked at him, "Sweetie, it wasn't okay believe me. You weren't here then, you were a lot worse than he made out in the video. Did you see him, that all happened in that year, he became sickly." Penny looked down at her cup again. "The other problem is Leonard, I don't know why. Why would I do something like that to you. I love you so much it hurts, why would I cheat on you when the thought of being without you makes me want to die. If maybe I knew the answer, I could get over this, but I can't figure out why."

"Maybe it was just too much alcohol." Leonard didn't know what to tell her.

Penny slowly shook her head, "I've been a lot drunker, so drunk at a party that you had to pour me into the car and I wanted you to just kill me next morning. And when I get drunk and horny, I go looking for you and start making an ass of myself pawing you, because when I get horny you are the only thing on my mind."

"Maybe because I wasn't there when you needed me." Leonard was now grasping at any excuse to make her feel better.

Penny shook her head again, "You made most of the parties, but there were still a few you didn't and I got pretty drunk at two of them. The girls brought me home one time and I called you the second time, telling you that if you didn't hurry and come get me, I was going to strip nude and wait till you came to pick up your wife and make love to her. You teased me for two weeks over that one." Penny told him.

Leonard scooted closer to her and put his arms around her waist, Penny just leaned back against him put her arms over his, a content sigh escaping her lips. "Penny, put it out of your mind, it didn't happen between you and me, okay"

"I'll try Sweetie, I'll try." Penny closed her eyes and sat there against Leonard, just enjoying the closeness of his body and the warmth that radiated from him as he held her.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

"Okay, I'll see you later Honey." Amy leaned up to give her husband a kiss, she didn't expect what happened next.

Sheldon pulled Amy close to him to kiss her hard, as he hugged her body tightly, part of his action was from being scared at her leaving him alone and him loosing the anchor he had been depending on since he got in this timeline. But the other reason was Sheldon was already getting use to being married and he liked it, Amy made him happy, happier than he had ever felt in his life. Even though they were married for a couple of years as far as this timeline, Sheldon was a newlywed and he wanted to spend more time with Amy, he really didn't want to be away from her until he could adjust to this new happiness that he was experiencing. Like now, every time he kissed Amy it seemed better than the last time and his mind wondered how good could it possibly get.

Amy was breathless, when Sheldon finally let her go, and she struggled to keep standing, her knees weak from the passion her husband just subjected them both too. It took her mind several seconds to come back to reality as she kept looking into his deep blue eyes, their hypnotic effect on her something she could never resist. "Sheldon, I…" words would not come to her mouth so she just reached to hold him and was immediately drawn into his arms again.

Sheldon held Amy and lightly rested his chin on her head, relaxing as his nose took in the smell of her, the smell that made his heart feel so good and relaxed him. He just wanted to go back to their home, cuddle on the couch and just watch TV together, like this past weekend. Sheldon didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it was finally Amy who pulled back from his embrace, looking up at him with love in her eyes.

"Honey, I'm late for work, I really need to get going." Even Sheldon could understand she wasn't telling him she was leaving, she was asking him if she could leave.

He fought every selfish urge he had to let her go and still couldn't do it, it was Leslie Winkle that actually made it so Amy could leave. "Umm, sorry I didn't know you had company" She had poked her head into his office so she could talk to him.

"I was just leaving." However Amy didn't move as she looked at Sheldon, her eyes silently asking if he still needed her there.

"I will see you at lunch?" Sheldon tried not to seem too needy and hoped his pleading eyes would be recognized by his wife.

Amy smiled. "Of course Dr Cooper." the teasing tone evident in her response.

Sheldon couldn't help but smile. "Thank you Dr Cooper." He then leaned down to give a peck on the lips arrogantly ignoring that Leslie was still there watching them. Sheldon then watched his wife leave, before turning to the source of his immediate discomfort. "What do you want, couldn't you see that I was busy." He snapped.

Sheldon's tone almost had Leslie in tears, making her purpose for being there at that moment, meaningless, she now just wanted to leave, his presence and the university. "I came to ask for the rest of the day off. I'm not feeling well."

Sheldon's face turned from anger to concern, for his well being, as he took a couple steps back from her and pulled his t-shirt over his nose and mouth. "If you are sick, why did you come here. You could have called."

"I'm not sick with anything you can catch." Leslie should have understood she would not get any sympathy from him.

Sheldon waved his hand at her. "Go and don't come back until a doctor provides a written report that you are well again." He backed a few more feet from her.

Leslie just nodded and left his office. She knew she had top and tell Leonard, he needed to know, she had just hoped Sheldon would have made it easier for her. She sighed once she was outside Sheldon's office and started to walk to the Physics Department offices, to talk to Leonard, she didn't know what else to do but tell him of her condition.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny had went to the bathroom, so Leonard just started looking through his email, when Jeannie knocked on his door. "Dr Hofstadter, Dr Winkle is here, wondering if she could talk to you."

Leonard nodded to Jeannie, he really hoped Leslie was not there to talk to him about some project he didn't know about or something like that. He suddenly wished Penny was there and hoped she came back soon, he felt like a fish out of water right now. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"She said it was a personal matter." Jeannie responded, so Leonard thought maybe he could handle that by himself.

"Okay, send her in." Leonard hoped he was right.

Leslie had gotten herself worked up on the way to Leonard's office worrying about what she was going to do and what she was going to tell him. It was so stressing her that after Leonard greeted her and offered her a seat she couldn't take it anymore and she had to tell him. Leslie never saw Penny open the door and start to come in the office when she began to speak, "Leonard, I'm pregnant." Her voice cracking as the words left her mouth.

Leonard was rendered speechless, the way she said it was like she was saying it was his and he looked at Penny with helplessness in his eyes. Penny looked at him confused and was about to turn back and go back out the door, but Leonard decided, in that moment, that it was better she knew now than later. "Penny don't go."

Leslie turned quickly to see Penny behind her, she knew, like everyone else at the university, about all the troubles between Leonard and Penny and now felt bad she told him in front of her. She now wished she never came there, even though she knew he needed to know. "Maybe I should leave." Leslie's voice now cracked with grief and the tears fighting to come out, with everything she said.

Whatever Penny felt about the scene in front of her, she felt more sorry for the woman sitting there in front of her, she could tell Leslie was on the verge of crying and Penny just couldn't watch her leave in that state. Penny walked over to Leslie and put her hands on her shoulders, "Sweetie are you alright?" Penny then felt Leslie shiver as the tears began to fall. She looked at Leonard who stared at her, fear evident in his eyes, because she knew he was thinking the exact same thing as her.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36 - Demands**

Penny continued to hug Leslie, who was now just whimpering, after crying for a good five full minutes. Leonard had moved to a seat at the table, sitting across from Leslie and Penny, a sick expression on his face, he was already accepting the worst. Penny watched him feeling a little numb, and was just barely holding it together herself, after everything that had happened since Friday, it felt like a nightmare, that she couldn't escape from. It seemed like the world was against them and now with this and Leslie, they both felt like they were caught in quicksand with no chance of escape.

Leslie slowly gained her composure. "I'm sorry to come with this to you, I don't want to burden you both with my problems." She looked at both Leonard and Penny with guilt in her eyes. "But I didn't know what else to do." she sniffled again and Penny started to rub her back giving her a little nod to continue. She really didn't know what else to do, Leslie needed help and Leonard needed to help her, even if the man sitting across from her hadn't done anything to her.

Leonard felt terrible, and felt like his world was crashing down on him. "Tell me what you want Leslie, tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it. You are not alone, I promise you, I will be there for you no matter what." He looked at Penny trying to silently tell her he was sorry and got a sad confused nod from her, she knew he was just trying to do his best to help.

Leslie looked at Leonard with a little bit of awe, his compassion for her and her situation way more that she ever expected. "I don't know what to say, thank you Leonard." It actually made her feel good inside and not as scared knowing someone cared for her and promised to help her. "I just don't want anyone to know right now and I will need to take some time for doctors appointments and stuff. So if you could approve my sick leave and keep this all to us right now, I would be very appreciative."

The way Leslie said 'burden you both with my problems' and 'keep this all to us' stuck in Penny's mind, confusing her and she looked at Leslie with a question now on her mind. "Leslie who is the father?"

"I really don't want to say. Could you two please just keep this a secret for now, please?" Leslie's responded as she looked at Penny. Penny's expression seemed strange and suddenly Leslie understood why she looked like that.

"Oh my God, no. Penny, this has nothing to do with Leonard, we have never been anything but work friends for all these years." Leslie then looked at Leonard, "Tell her Leonard." She then quickly looked back at Penny, "Penny, I didn't mean to make it look like Leonard was the father, I am so sorry." Leslie so didn't want to cause more problems between them, because as she understood they had enough problems already.

Penny looked at Leonard who was desperately trying to not look as surprised as her at Leslie's statement. Penny looked back at Leslie stunned but relieved, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what to think when I walked in." Penny then looked back at Leonard, "I'm sorry Leonard, I should have trusted you."

Leonard couldn't blame her for thinking what he thought too. "I'm sorry too Penny, I guess we need to trust more." He hoped she understood that he meant they should trust future him more. Penny nodded and gave him a small smile letting him know she understood.

However, Penny did feel a little bad, about thinking Leslie's pregnancy was caused by her husband Leonard and how Leslie had to reassure her, the man in front of her was right they needed to trust more. She forced herself to shake in off for now and turned her mind back to Leslie, who she knew was single and probably scared right now, "Just remember Sweetie, you are not alone, we are here if you need us, so just let us know if we can help."

Leonard now joined in. "Of course Leslie, just let me know when you need time off and I will personally take care of it. It will be our secret. And Leslie, Penny is right, we are here for you, so you contact us if you need anything, okay."

Leslie couldn't believe how everything had changed in less than thirty minutes, she wasn't alone anymore, people were there for her. "Thank you, thank you so much." A small smile now formed on her face where only grief and concern occupied only a few moments ago.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon headed down to the basement shortly after Leslie left and he checked that no one was around to observe him. However, when he got to the room, he never expected to see a very sophisticated lock on the door, engraved with information to contact Leonard for removal. Sheldon was surprised that someone as pedantic as Leonard could react so fast to their current situation and mad that he now kept Sheldon form his machine. Sheldon needed to get rid of Leonard and as he thought of it, he smiled, because he now had leverage to do that. He hurried back to his office, he had to find out where President Siebert's office was.

It was just before 11 AM when Sheldon showed up at President Siebert's office to request a few minutes of his time. "Dr Cooper, you are a bit early for the 1 PM meeting. Is there something wrong."

"Yes President Siebert, I would like not to have Dr Hofstadter at the meeting today." Sheldon demanded.

"I don't understand, just a few weeks ago you were saying Dr Hofstadter was the force that kept you on track and made it possible for you prove your theories." Siebert looked at Cooper confused.

Sheldon was caught in the trap he feared, his previous self had been obviously a close colleague of Leonard's, a friend even, so now acting like he was wanting him away would look very suspicious. Sheldon tried to smile at Siebert, "Of course I appreciate Leonard's help, but I need to work on my own now, because although he helped me a lot there were other times he was a hindrance. I think it would be better if our professional work was separate from now on, to the extent that I don't work under him anymore."

Siebert could see that Dr Cooper was lying, the forced creepy smile on his face obviously not real. Also, he was so appreciative, a couple weeks ago, about Leonard's help, so something must have happened, that caused a problem between them. This was a hell of a time to tell him this, 2 hours before talking to the board. "Really, Dr Cooper."

Siebert just stared at Sheldon, making him extremely nervous, he needed to talk his way out of this. "Yes, I think it would better for the everyone if Dr Hofstadter was moved from the Physics department and I really consider it a factor in my continued employment here." That was the leverage Sheldon had, every university wanted Nobel Laureates on their faculty, it made the university seem better than it actually was. Sheldon knew the board would want him to stay, so if they wanted him, they would have to get remove Leonard. Sheldon was confident, the university releasing Leonard, would not only help solve his problem with Leonard wanting them to leave this timeline but would also keep him away from his machine. Sheldon looked at Siebert in what he considered a position of power, because like every other university he knew they would do anything to keep him in their faculty.

Siebert sat back in his chair, wondering what the hell was happening with Dr Cooper. Leonard was being groomed to take over Siebert's job when he retired, so there was no way he was going to be removed from the Physics department, plus Leonard had a Nobel too, so if Siebert had to choose he would choose Hofstadter over Cooper. "I'm sorry you feel that way Dr Cooper. Could I ask when you plan to leave Cal Tech."

Sheldon was stunned and his eyes went wide, he never expected Siebert's response. "You would keep Dr Hofstadter over me, even after my Nobel Prize?" Sheldon was incredulous.

"Just because Dr Hofstadter's Nobel Prize is a couple years older than yours, doesn't make it any less of an asset to this university. Plus unlike you, Dr Hofstadter is the foremost authority on Lasers in the country, the university would never release him willing. His work has huge practical applications and it brings large sums of money into the university. Your work is still all theoretical and will take years of further research to get anything tangible out of it. I would think you would know that Dr Cooper, so it makes me wonder why you are threatening leaving us because of Dr Hofstadter." Siebert continued to stare at Sheldon.

Sheldon stared back at Siebert trying to process his words, 'Leonard had a Nobel Prize and he had it before him, how could that be possible', he couldn't understand. He was getting himself let go instead of Leonard, that would let Leonard have the time machine and leave him in control, that couldn't happen. "I could be persuaded to stay if I just don't have to work under Dr Hofstadter, instead letting me work independently." Sheldon countered, hating every conciliatorily word that left his mouth.

Siebert continued to stare at Cooper for a few moments longer, "I'll let the board know your request Dr Cooper. Is there anything else?"

Sheldon just wanted out of there now, any confidence he had felt coming in was now gone. "No, I'll be back at one." Sheldon stood up and left, he needed to find Amy and have lunch with her, he needed to calm down.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

"Leonard, what is going on between you and Dr Cooper?" Siebert immediately asked as soon as Leonard answered the phone.

'Crap' Leonard thought, Sheldon did something and Leonard hadn't an idea what. "Why sir, did Sheldon say something was the matter?"

"Leonard are you hiding something from me? Cooper came to my office to tell me he was leaving the university unless I removed you from the Physics department." Siebert now wondered what was up with Hofstadter being so evasive.

'Double Crap' Leonard thought, he had no idea what Sheldon said to Siebert, and he needed to say something. "Sir, we had a little falling out recently." It was actually the truth Leonard thought.

"Leonard you should have told me about this, especially now. Was this why you weren't at the party Friday?" Siebert had to get a handle on this before the board meeting with Cooper.

Leonard shook his head, he hated lying like this, he knew lies usually caught up with you, but what could he do. "Yes Sir, I didn't want to cause a scene."

"Well Cooper made the demand that he not work under you and that he be given independence with his research. The board will probably approve that to keep him." Siebert thought for a moment. "Leonard I think you and Cooper together today is not a good idea, so I'll see you after the meeting, so we can talk about this."

"Yes Sir." Leonard then heard the click of the phone as Siebert hung up. 'Crap' Leonard thought, his first day at work and he was ready to just leave the place already. What else could go wrong today, he thought.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37 - End of a Long Day**

Leonard walked out to 'his car' and stopped just staring, it seemed alien to him, like a lot of the life he was now living, and he wondered seriously for the first time if he really could adapt in this timeline. He couldn't help that his mind was constantly thinking about staying there, ever since the future/past version of himself told him and Penny to fix things, so they could live happily ever after. However today had made him wonder if that was possible, the problems Sheldon had caused, this awkward relationship between him and Penny, and the uncomfortable meeting he had just got out of with President Siebert. He knew it was only his first day, but still he couldn't help but wonder if he stayed, would the rest of his life be like that, trying to fake his way through a live that wasn't his, and trying not to make mistakes that would show him to be the fraud he really was.

Leonard pushed the unlock button on the car remote and sat down in 'his car', at least it was comfortable, even if he didn't know what all the controls meant. The buttons on the steering wheel, especially intrigued him, so he reached over to the glove compartment and happily found the owners manual there. Leonard spent the next 30 minutes sitting in 'his car' just reading how the whole thing worked, including the buttons that had the phone symbol on them, imbedded in his steering wheel.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny just wanted her rehearsal to end, her mind hadn't been in her work at all, thoughts of Leonard occupying every second of her day. She had screwed up so much today, some of her fellow actors were actually trying to help her, which never happened before with her. It seemed the only relief she got was when she wasn't in a scene and just got to sit to think about the man she knew she was missing that day. Like right now, she was sitting in the corner, while her fellow actors were going over a scene, and although she knew she should be going over her lines for the next scene, every time she looked at her script it seemed like it was written in an alien language to her.

Penny's phone vibrating took her out of her thoughts and she almost squealed as the early picture of Leonard holding her popped up on the screen identifying the caller. Penny quickly hit receive. "Sweetie, hold on a second, I have to go someplace else." Penny then quickly looked around, stood and headed to the studio bathroom, locking herself in a stall. "Sweetie, I missed you."

"I'm not keeping you from your job, I sorry if I interrupted." Leonard now thought maybe calling her had been a bad idea.

"No Sweetie, they are rehearsing a scene, I'm not in, so it is fine. You are calling me from your car, aren't you. Are you on your way home?" Penny suddenly just wished she was in the car with him, instead of where she was now.

"Yeah, I have been sitting her trying to figure out all the buttons and I got this urge to call you, sorry." Leonard confessed.

Penny smiled at the thought of his urge, her mind immediately going to them both naked in bed pressed against each other, both surrendering themselves to each other. Penny had to gently shake her head to bring herself back to reality. "I'm glad you called, I have been worried about you and your first day. Did everything go alright, especially with Sheldon?"

Leonard sighed, "That is complicated and I thing we should talk about it when we see each other tonight."

Penny's smile turned to a frown. "You had problems didn't you." She immediately thought she should have stayed with him, damm her job.

"Don't worry, I got done today, none the worse for wear, we can talk later. Speaking of later, when do you normally get home?" Leonard asked.

The smile crept back on Penny's face, Leonard, before the last year, would always wonder when she was getting home and would take her into his arms as soon as she arrived. She missed that so much, "They are finishing up a scene then we have one more scene to do that I am in, before we finish. I'll probably be here another hour, do you want me to call you before I leave?"

"Please, I don't want to have to worry about you." Leonard sat there a second wondering if he had the right to even say that with her. He decided he better change the subject before it got awkward, "Do you want me to make something or do you want to eat out tonight?"

Penny's mind was still stuck on the 'I don't want to have to worry about you' so it took a second to respond. "I am a little tired, but Sweetie I know how you hate to cook."

"Umm, I like to cook some, we….I mean I took cooking courses and I make a mean Tilapia Fish dinner." Leonard told her.

"That actually sounds good." Just then Penny heard the restroom door open and someone walk in.

"Penny are you alright, they are setting up for the last scene." The director's assistance informed her.

"Sweetie, I have to go. I would love if you made dinner and I will call you as soon as I leave the studio." Penny whispered, then hung up and flushed the toilet, for appearances, following the assistant out to the studio. She couldn't get the small smile off her face the whole time they rehearsed.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon was finally relaxed for the first time since he had gotten to Cal Tech, of course he was leaving now so that was probably why he felt relief. He knew Amy knew he was stressed, by the way she immediately offered to drive them home, and again he was happy for her presence, wondering why he ever let her go in his past timeline. He had been so afraid of the sexual aspects of marriage, that he didn't even take into consideration the companionship aspects until after he lost her. He remembered how Leonard and Penny told him that just wanting to be around each other and enjoying each other' company was something that could last a lifetime, and intimate relationships would naturally come later, but he never believed them. He had to admit now the last few days had proven them right, being with Amy was something he could easily see him doing the rest of his life, there was no ones company he would prefer having then hers.

"Sheldon how was your day?" Amy knew he was upset and she didn't want to make things worse.

Sheldon was pulled out of his thoughts and as he looked at her, he said the first thing his mind thought. "I love you Amy."

Amy swallowed, she was getting more and more pregnant every day, plus this weekend, when they had the sexual relations talk, still weighed heavy on her mind, so him telling her he still loved her was the affirmation she desired. Her hormones now took over as tears slowly leaked from her eyes as she tried hard to drive correctly, her emotions raging inside of her. "I love you too, Honey."

Sheldon saw the tear slide down her cheek and became immediately concerned he did something again to hurt her, "Amy you are crying, did I say something wrong?" confusion evident in his voice.

Amy shook her head a small smile on her lips, "No Honey, you said something right, it is just my hormones make me cry when I am happy."

"Oh, I see. You know hormones are a important factor in pregnancy…." Sheldon continued on for a good five minutes explaining hormones to her, Amy just enjoying listening to him the whole time.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leonard had just finished taking the fish off the stove, when he heard the door to the garage open and Penny come quickly in the house. Her being home so much later than him allowed him to stop at he supermarket and get all the fixings for their dinner tonight, he found he wanted to impress her and thank her for everything she had done for him so far. "Why don't you wash up and then when you come back, I'll have our plates ready." He then smiled at her.

Penny smiled back, "Everything smells so good, I'm suddenly starved, hurry, I'll be right back." She giggled and then headed quickly to her room.

It was 20 minutes later, them half way through their meals, when they started to talk in earnest again. "Leonard, I swear this is the best fish I have ever ate."

Leonard chuckled, "That is because you are hungry, did you eat anything after you left me today?"

Penny looked at him with guilt. "I had a salad."

Leonard shook his head, "I know you are an actress and have to watch you weight, but I made sure this is a low carb meal, so eat all you want okay."

Penny smiled and nodded, then speared another piece of fish off Leonard's plate. "Hey, there is some more fish on the counter." Leonard protested.

"Your's looked more appealing." Penny teased.

Leonard shook his head, smiling and mumbling "Just like the crispy French Fries."

"What Sweetie." Penny looked at him slightly confused, but smiling.

"Nothing, I need more fish." Leonard got up to get the rest of the fish off the counter.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Sheldon and Amy walked into their apartment, Sheldon carrying the takeout bag from the restaurant, filled with the food she had been craving all day. She had done the ordering from the car and she had ordered what she said was his favorite, so Sheldon hoped it would something he could eat. The set up dinner quickly and were eating only a short time after they arrived, just quietly sitting next to each other on the couch, their hips just touching each other, the TV not even on.

Amy especially noticed how quiet it was and the lack of Sheldon's interest in the TV, it was something she liked and at the same time worried her, because if anything, Sheldon was a creature of habit. "Sheldon is something wrong."

Sheldon sighed, he knew this was going to come up and he wanted to tell her, but now that it did he didn't know how to start. "Today was a little bit difficult."

"How so, Honey." Amy was now looking at Sheldon with concern.

The urge to kiss her upturned face, got stronger in Sheldon with every day he was with her, but he needed to go on. "Everything has changed since I have gotten the Nobel and it is hard to adjust." 'Adjust is an interesting word' Sheldon thought, he had a lot of adjusting to do.

"Yes, but it is good change isn't it Honey?" Amy tried to give his worry a positive spin.

"Some, but I have found that Leonard and I now have a wedge between us." Sheldon didn't have to lie about the wedge between them, it was just the cause he knew was a lie.

"Really, but Leonard is your best friend." Amy reminded him.

Sheldon shook his head, a very small smile on his lips. "You are wrong there Dr Cooper. Amy, you are my best friend, Leonard is just a friend and acquaintance."

For the second time today, Amy swallowed hard at he husbands words, tears again trying to escape her hormonal ravished body. "Sheldon…" She didn't get to finish as Sheldon softly brushed his lips against hers. The kiss, that was intended to be quick, went on and on, until Amy finally opened her eyes, breathlessly looking at her husband.

Sheldon, looked down at her, with regret, he didn't want to stop the kiss, but he was loosing his grasp on reality with her, and it was the only way he could keep control. He had put his hands on her waist as he kissed her and as he pulled her closer, her baby bump and breasts rubbed against his arms, making him only want to caress both of them. If he had kept the kiss longer he knew he would have given up to his urges and then what, it scared him to think what he may have done next. "Amy maybe we better eat the rest of our food before it gets cold."

Amy just nodded, unable to think of words to speak to explain how she felt just now. It was after a couple of minutes, she finally composed herself, "Sheldon do you want to tell me what happened today." She watched her husband nod and then listened to him explain his day.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Everything had been fine, until Leonard and Penny sat on the couch, after they cleaned up from dinner, Penny on one side and Leonard again on the other. Penny had gotten quiet and as she fidgeted with a after dinner glass of wine they both were drinking, he could see something was bothering her again. He figured it was him and this whole situation he put her in, he had ruined her life, in both timelines and he was really amazed she was doing so well after all she had seen so far. He knew whatever happened he had to make this right with her and even now he had to see if he could do something to make things better for her. "Penny is something bothering you?"

Penny looked up at him with the look of a small girl getting caught at something she had just done wrong. "No Sweetie…well nothing that has to do with you."

"You want to talk about it?" he coaxed.

Penny sat there thinking, a expression Leonard had seen many times before when she was trying to figure something out, he knew just to give her time. It was a couple seconds later Leonard could see she had come to a decision. "Sweetie, remember when I kept saying it was a year ago, that it happened." She looked at him and say him nod to continue. "Well it was at the end of the season, at the cast party, and that happens again this Friday, since our last taping is Thursday. The director came up to me today, because he knew I wouldn't go, to tell me that the network was sending a couple of big-wigs to the party to make an announcement and everyone needed to be there. I have to go, Leonard."

Leonard just nodded, not knowing what to think, "Okay."

Penny wanted to cry, "Sweetie, I promise you I will stay with the married couples all night and won't drink a thing, okay."

She was talking to him like he was her husband, again giving him mixed feelings, but there was also something she said that confused him. "Married couples, do people take their spouses to this party?"

"Yes, there are spouses." Penny looked at Leonard finally getting what he was asking. "Sweetie you don't have to go."

"I know, but I would like to be there, if you want me. Do you want me to go?" Leonard looked at her.

Penny couldn't keep her eyes on him, he made her want to cry, and she looked down at her hands, responding in a whisper. "Yes."

Leonard scooted closer to her and took her hands which made her look up at him again, "Then I would love to go with you, if you'll have me." Penny just stared into his eyes and nodded.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38 - Plans**

Leonard spent most of the next day with Howard, going over the requirements for the power module and then finally showing him the actual machine, before lunch. He didn't like having to show him the machine but it would not be possible for Howard to complete the power module interface with without a detailed understanding of where it all had to fit. So it was with much trepidation he unlocked the room and brought Howard into the room, Leonard cringing a little as he saw Howard's eyes go wide. Leonard knew Howard was an gifted engineer, so he could almost see the gears working in Howard's head as his eyes scanned around the room.

"Wow Leonard, it looks like you are trying to generate some sort of field, with this thing." Howard observed.

'Crap' Leonard thought, Howard already had a good idea what the machine did, it was now time for Leonard to lie. "Yeah. Howard this is all theoretical, but I think we have an idea how to produce a force field."

"You're kidding! A force field, like Star Trek and Star Wars?" Howard was truly surprised.

"It's a theory, but this field generator was built to try and see if it will work." Leonard hoped his lie wasn't too absurd for Howard.

"That is so cool. But you are going to need huge amounts of power to maintain a force field, I don't think the university power system will be able to maintain the power you are going need." Howard told him.

"I think you are right, that is why we have capacitor banks in the rear. We will charge them then supplement their power from the university, to get the power we need for 15-20 minutes. That should be enough to stabilize a force field and give us time to run tests on its properties." Leonard tried to sound sincere.

"I see. So you need the power module to control all that power, I got it." Howard then went further into the room to look at the power system.

Leonard relaxed a little as Howard checked out the power system, he hated to trick his friend but the fewer people that knew about the true purpose of this machine the better it was for mankind. He sat down at the computer console and resisted the urge to turn the system on as he watched Howard crawl around the power transformers. Leonard thought everything was finally going along okay for once, until he saw Howard walk towards him shaking his head. "What's wrong."

"What are you not telling me Leonard?" Howard seemed a little hurt as he stared at him.

Leonard swallowed, thinking, 'he couldn't know, could he?' as he looked at Howard, "What do you mean?"

"This thing has been used already, I can see some weak power connections that are almost ready to overload and need to be replaced, from this machine being on before. Also, there was a place in the circuits for a power module already, and based on the size of that space you had something exotic you were already using as a power module. What is up Leonard?" Howard just stared at him.

Howard was good, too good, Leonard thought and he quickly came up with a lie he hoped would work. "Howard, we tried to fire this thing up the first day we completed it and fried the power module. It was a special module built by NASA for the space station and we can't get another. They were actually quite pissed when we sent the burnt out one back to them."

Howard nodded, the stern features on his face softening. "Okay, can you provide me the specifications on that module and I will beef mine up. Also I'll fix the weak connections you have already."

Leonard smiled, "Thanks Howard."

Howard and Leonard spent lunch socializing and going over Howard's equipment needs to repair the machine and build the power module. They even talked a little about video games as Leonard noticed Howard getting more and more relaxed from the first day he and Penny visited him in his home. It felt so good to be around him again and as they talked he couldn't help thinking of Raj. He had to do something about that, today, he thought.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Penny grabbed something quick to eat at the Cheesecake Factory before she went into work, mostly to see Cheryl again, but also to see Bernadette if she was there. She didn't have much time, so she got there just when the doors were opened for the day and there was almost no one there. She smiled when her friend greeted her and smiled even more when she saw Bernadette come out of the employee area to check her tables. "Hey girl, you still coming to my show Thursday?" Penny greeted her friend.

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it, but I only need one ticket." Cheryl told her.

"What about that guy you said you wanted to take?" Penny was confused.

"That didn't work out." Cheryl sighed.

"What is wrong, Sweetie?" Penny put her hand on her friends shoulder.

"I don't know Penny. It seems all the guys I seem to get anymore, just want a couple nights of in and out, then they get bored and leave. I mean my whole dating live is going to bars, getting picked up and getting screwed, in more ways than one." Cheryl confessed.

Penny looked at her and slightly shivered, because before Leonard, her and Cheryl where the same and she wondered if she hadn't met Leonard, would she be just like Cheryl now. Then Penny thought of Raj, "Cheryl, things change, you will find someone, maybe you just need to broaden your horizons." Penny tried to cheer her up.

Cheryl smiled at her, "Know any good nerds available where your husband works. You have been so happy since you met him, maybe I need to look at a different type of guy. Someone who could actually love me and I could trust."

Penny looked at her in shock, she had to tell her, "Cheryl do you remember that guy from my Halloween party years ago. The party Kurt acted like an ass to Leonard." Cheryl nodded. "Would you like to see him again?"

A little smile formed on her face, "Yeah, I would."

"Okay you leave that up to me." Penny smiled back. She couldn't believe how good she felt playing match-maker and as she looked at the restaurant floor she saw Bernadette, again. Penny looked back at Cheryl an idea immediately forming in her mind. "Cheryl, I was thinking of inviting Bernadette to the taping too, now that there is an extra ticket. Is that okay with you?"

Cheryl nodded, "It would actually be nice to sit with someone I know."

Penny smiled. "Great. I love you girl, but I'm going to sit at one of Bernadette's tables now to ask her. I'll say goodbye before I go." Both girls hugged each other, then Penny went to sit down.

Penny was grateful that Tuesdays usually started out slow because it gave her a chance to talk a little with Bernadette when she came over to get her order. "Hey Sweetie."

"Oh, Hi Penny. Nice to see you again." Bernadette was pleasant and didn't seem as tired as before.

"Working a lot this week?" Penny was trying to find out if Bernadette was off this Thursday.

"Really not bad, I work mornings all this week, so I get home by 4 every day. It gives me the evenings with my boy." Bernadette told her.

'She has Thursday evening off', Penny thought. "Sweetie, We are taping the last episode of our show, this season, Thursday, you want to come see it?"

Bernadette looked at her surprise written all over her face. "You have people there?"

"Yes we have a studio audience at all the tapings. Cheryl is coming and I have another VIP ticket so you could come too." Penny tried to make sound as exciting as she could.

Bernadette's expression went from interest to sadness before Penny's eyes. "I don't think I can Penny. It sounds really nice, but it is too late to get a good babysitter and my mother watches Joey all day, I can't ask her to watch him at night too."

Penny felt defeated, then a thought came to her mind. "Leonard will watch him for you. You can come over to my house and ride with me to the show, it will be fun."

"Your husband? Penny I can't impose like that." Bernadette responded.

"Sweetie, Leonard loves kids and you need a girls night out. Your son will be fine, I promise." Penny practically begged.

Bernadette looked at her torn. "That is so nice of you, but I don't know."

Penny tried one more thing. "Sweetie, All this success that happened to me was great except for one thing, I lost track of my friends, my real friends. I want that back, you guys are the people I love and I have been gone away far too long. Cheryl and I were old friends and I thought you and I were becoming friends too, so I want that to continue. I miss you guys."

Bernadette stared at her for a moment, "I guess it has been a long time since I had a girls night out."

Penny nodded, "Your son will be fine with my husband, he is a great guy and we will have some fun, I promise."

Bernadette smiled, "Okay."

It was 20 minutes later that Penny sat in her car to leave, she had set a time for the girls to arrive at her home to go to the taping. She would ask the studio to send a limo for them, in case they had any drinks after the taping, during the little party that usually happened after the taping. She also was happy the girls were coming, because when she thought about it, she didn't want to be around the people of the show when there was alcohol, without someone there with her.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Leonard and Howard had just gotten back to his office when his cell phone rang. "Excuse me Howard, I need to take this. The wife." Leonard shrugged and Howard smiled, then stepped out of his office to give him some privacy.

Leonard hit accept on his phone. "Hi Penny." Leonard then listen for five straight minutes while she explained everything to him from her car as she drove to work. "Baby sit?…That is good to know he is 3 and not a baby, but me?….I know, you're right, but is there any other way?…Okay….Yeah he is here outside my office….I don't know, you think that will work?…..Okay, I'll ask him, but I can't promise anything…Okay, I'll make him come, I'll think of something…See you later, take care." Leonard hung up and stared at his phone a second, wondering how he just got stuck babysitting Thursday. He went to his door to wave Howard back in his office, offering him a seat. "Howard, what are you doing Thursday evening?"

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The day was a lot easier on Sheldon than Monday, he mostly had to supervise the movement of his stuff from his old office to a new office in the Nuclear Engineering department. Nuclear Engineering was heavily involved with Physics, so Sheldon's placement there was not unusual, especially since he was now the department Senior Technical Adviser and this new job made him second only to the department head. He was given a large nicely furnished office next to the department head's office, with real wood furniture, a conference table and a nice leather couch, which he quickly picked his spot on, since he knew he would spend more time on it alone, than in his office chair. When he was finally moved in, at the end of the day, Sheldon had to smile as he looked around his new office, and he told himself he was finally getting what he deserved.

"This is nice." Upon hearing the remark, Sheldon quickly turned to see Amy standing in the doorway, a smile on her face, it made him smile back at her. He walked up to her and took her hand leading her into his office so she could see everything better.

"It is quite satisfactory." Sheldon commented.

"I would think more than satisfactory. This wood is real black cherry, not press board and the chair and couch are leather." Amy noticed as she looked around.

"Yeah, they are." Sheldon said with a big smile, thinking the board of directors at the university finally did something right, when they gave him this office. "The department head's office and this one are the same."

"Honey, I'm so proud of you." Amy hugged him.

If felt so natural to hug her back and as he held her, he put a kiss on her head. "Thank you Amy, thank you for everything." His words caused Amy to loosen her grip on him so she could look up at him, making Sheldon want to kiss her as he saw the love in her eyes. Sheldon brought her over to his couch to sit, then kissed her, maybe it was the happiness Sheldon felt for his new office, maybe it was only Amy or both, but they spent the next 10 minutes necking on his office couch, like two hippies.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

When Penny came home she found a fresh box of pizza on the kitchen counter and heard the TV going on in the living room with gunfire coming from it. She grabbed a plate and put two pieces of pizza on it, then grabbed a diet Dr Pepper, before she went in the living room to see what was happening. She almost laughed as she saw Leonard concentrating so hard playing what was obviously a video game on the TV. "Sweetie, having fun." she teased.

Leonard hit pause and looked at her, a little surprised. "I didn't hear you come in."

"That doesn't surprise me, with all the gunfire going on in here." She teased.

"Well it's your fault." Leonard teased back.

"My fault?" Penny tried to act shocked.

"You said to get Howard here Thursday, so I told him we would play this new video game." Leonard pointed to the TV screen.

"Oh, I guess it is my fault." Penny giggled. "By the way, did you see about Raj?" she asked sweetly.

"Of course, I followed all your directions." Leonard smiled up at her, then took a piece of pizza off her plate.

"Hey! I was about to say that was one of the reasons I keep you around, but now I just changed my mind." She fake glared at him, then smiled.

"Well you owe me and I work cheap, so this piece of pizza will be my payment." Leonard teased her back.

Penny stared at him a second, her mind wondering as she thought of other types of rewards for him before she regained control. "Well what happened with Raj?"

Leonard stared at her a second, wondering why her eyes glazed over for a second, but then responded to her question. "I checked with personnel and since Sheldon was transferred to another department, I now have a faculty opening, which I explained needed to be filled by someone like Raj. Bottom line, they said okay and I called him with Howard this afternoon."

Penny looked at him for more, but he just looked at her, not saying a thing, she knew he was doing it on purpose to tease her. "Leooonnnaarrd!"

Leonard smiled, "When I told him we wanted him to come back to Cal Tech and Howard added that he missed him, he cried."

Penny smiled, "That is so sweet. So when does he come here, I need to fix him and Cheryl up as soon as possible."

Leonard chuckled at how serious she was taking this match-making thing. "Well it just so happens that he was in the United States less than month ago, in New York for a conference, so his Visa is still good. He will be here Sunday and Howard has already said he could stay with him until he finds a place."

"That's perfect Leonard, we can double date next week." Penny squealed.

Leonard chuckled, "So I did good?"

"You did great, Sweetie." Penny smiled at him.

"Good, so get some more pizza and drinks, then grab the other controller, I need someone to play against, if I'm going to play Howard, Thursday." Leonard ordered.

Penny stood at attention, a big smile on her face, and saluted, "Yes Sir." then went to get more pizza smiling all the way to the kitchen.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39 - Friends and Enemies **

The next two days for Sheldon were actually pleasant, because he didn't have to deal with people. The most tedious thing he had to do was sit in the weekly staff meeting with the department head, but even then no one talked to him and he pretty much ignored them. The rest of time he was left alone in his office, which gave him the chance to read his own research papers and discover who this man was he replaced. He also saw that his other self and the Leonard from this timeline where friends, good friends, and with that information along with what happened with Siebert, Sheldon knew he had to thread carefully on how he now treated Leonard in public.

Sheldon was allowed to go about freely in his new job, because of his new status, even the department head seemed to be understand that Sheldon was on his own. So both days Sheldon had lunch with Amy and visited her Lab in the afternoon for a short time too, each of the days. Sheldon's feelings for Amy were changing every day, he found himself being very possessive of her and he knew it was because he was now feeling really married to her, more and more. He couldn't look at her without thinking she was his wife now and with those thoughts, something else was happening, he found himself looking more and more at her with desire.

The last two mornings he woke up spooning her his face buried in her soft clean good smelling hair and to his surprise his hand cupping her breasts. Yesterday he gently removed it, but this morning he just held her, the softness of her making him reluctant to let her go. What made things worse was when she woke up, she didn't seem bothered about where his hand was, like it was normal for him to be touching her on her lady parts. It made him even more confused, because no matter how much he tried to logically dismiss it to himself, he liked touching her and it was starting to feel natural to do it.

One of the better things that was happening though, was that he was establishing a routine, and he needed routines, they grounded him. Amy, who hadn't said anything, seemed to be helping with this routine too, by now driving every day and not even asking him to take the wheel of the car. The forming of a routine also relaxed Sheldon, which was good and bad, good because he was thinking clearly again, but bad because most of these new clear thoughts were about Amy.

Sheldon sat in his office and shook his head, trying to concentrate on something other than Amy and was finally able to devote some of his thoughts on his problem with Leonard and Penny. They had kept him from the machine with that lock, it surprised him when he found out the lock case was titanium and then again when he saw no key hole or other means to unlock it. It was obviously specially made to keep someone like him out, and Sheldon was really confused how Leonard could have gotten something so quickly. This made things more difficult for Sheldon, because with Leonard controlling the machine, he could not use it stop him from ruining this new life he was enjoying and didn't want to end.

The more Sheldon thought about it his whole situation, the more only one answer came to mind, he had to somehow neutralize Leonard from causing any problem for him. What bother him though was not knowing what Leonard was up too, so it made him rationalize that he had to do something quickly too, before Leonard acted against him. Sheldon walked from his desk to the spot on his couch so he could concentrate more on this problem, he always thought best on his spot, so he settled himself in, grabbing the package of red vines, he kept nearby, and thought on the new number one person on his mortal enemies list.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

Thursday, Leonard came home early, with pizza, Howard riding with him, since he drove a scooter to work each day, so he decided to leave it at the university that night. Leonard agreed to drive him home after their game night, and Howard would ride the bus to work the next day, like he did when it rained, to get his scooter. Their arrival, at the house, found Penny nervously moving around the house waiting for her friends to show up. Howard quickly exiting to the living room to set up the game, like Leonard requested, while Leonard tended to an obviously agitated Penny, "Penny, are you okay?" Leonard whispered to her.

"God Leonard, I don't want to mess things up tonight with my friends. Ever since I have been talking to them, I realized now how much I missed them. You are great Sweetie, but sometimes a girl needs another girl to talk about things too, you know." Penny looked at him hoping he understood.

Leonard thought about how easily she acted like he was her husband, "Yeah, I know, it is the same with us guys."

Penny put her hand on his cheek, she wanted to kiss him so bad it hurt. "Thanks for understanding." The doorbell ringing made her jump, as she turned quickly practically running to the door.

Leonard had to chuckle when he heard Penny squeal as she welcomed her two friends, as he made his way to the living room, so when Penny introduced them again, he would be with Howard, like she planned. He now had to tell Howard what was happening and that they would be babysitting that night. "Um Howard, Penny just told me that one of her friends needs to leave her son here tonight, while they go see Penny's show." He hoped Howard now didn't bolt for the door.

Howard looked at him with an expression Leonard couldn't read. "Oh, okay." was all he said.

Leonard was a little surprised, but the girls coming in the living room made him not ponder his friends expression for long. "Sweetie, you remember Cheryl and Bernadette. The little guy is Bernadette's son Joey." Penny introduced the girls to Leonard. "Guys this is Leonard's friend Howard. Bernadette you remember Howard." Penny bit her lip, hoping she wasn't too obvious.

Bernadette looked at Howard for a moment. "Oh yes, now I remember. You all three ate dinner together on Sunday." Bernadette smiled, proud that she remembered, then she kneeled down to her son. "Honey, Mr. Leonard and Mr. Howard are going to watch you tonight, okay." The little boy immediately wrapped his arms around his mother's neck, holding on tight. Bernadette looked at Penny, a torn look on her face, which Penny could recognize was her doubt about now going.

However, Penny and Leonard's jaws dropped when Howard took a couple of steps then kneeled next to the mother and child, smiling at the boy. "Hey Joey, do you want to spend an evening with the guys?" The little boy shook his head. Howard reached back and picked up a controller. "We are going to play video games."

The little boy looked at the controller then at Howard. "Can I play?"

"We were hoping you would, we're not too good." Howard told him.

The little boy let go of his mother and reached for the wireless controller, no sooner than he had it in his hand, looking back at his mother. "Mommy can I play?"

Bernadette gave him a sweet smile, "Of course Honey." she then leaned over and kissed him. Bernadette then looked over at Howard and mouthed 'Thank You'.

Howard smiled back and nodded, then looked at the boy, "Joey so you ready to play?"

Joey smiled. "Yes Sir."

Penny, quickly saw that they could leave and wanted to get Bernadette out before she changed her mind. "Come on guys the limo is waiting." She then herded her friends out to the waiting car. Leonard just standing there a little stunned as Howard and the little boy sat on the couch and Howard showed him how to play.

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

It was a little after midnight when the girls came back in the house laughing and carrying on, to find the guys sitting in the living room quietly talking. Bernadette looked at the couch, to see her son sound asleep on it, his head on a pillow and a blanket covering him. She smiled at him and then smiled at the guys. "I hope he wasn't any trouble?"

Leonard shook his head, "No he was fine, he played the video game with Howard for a couple of hours, ate some fruit yogurt and drank some milk, then crashed where he is now. We covered him and he hasn't moved since."

Bernadette smiled more, "Thank you Howard."

Howard smiled, "He's a good kid." Bernadette's smile got larger as she and Howard looked at each other.

Cheryl nudged Penny, "I'm going to go." she said softly.

"Okay, but remember lunch tomorrow. I'll pick you up." Penny reminded her getting a nod from Cheryl. Penny followed Cheryl to the door and hugged her, no sooner closing the door, then hurrying back to the living room. "Bernadette, do you want a cup of coffee, before you go home."

"Well…" Bernadette was hesitant.

"Come on, it will keep you awake driving home." Penny said trying to convince her.

Leonard turned to Howard, "Do you mind if I get a cup before we go." seeing Penny giving him a conspiratorial look.

It was ten minutes later they were all drinking coffee, Howard and Bernadette talking about her son Joey. Penny kept smiling at Leonard from behind her coffee cup, so pleased that they seemed so interested in each other. Leonard getting a kick on how happy and pleased Penny was over the whole situation, it was a shame when the little get together ended 20 minutes later.

"Well, I better get Joey home." Bernadette finally said, then gave Penny a hug, "Thanks for the coffee and the great night, it was nice to get out."

Leonard looked at Howard. "Well I'll drive you home now Howard."

Bernadette looked at Leonard, then Howard. "Where do you live?"

It was only ten minutes later that Penny and Leonard watched, from their doorway, Bernadette's car drive off, Howard in the passenger seat. Penny was practically hopping in place, she was so excited at seeing them go off together. "Oh Leonard, she likes him and I think he likes her."

Leonard chuckled about how happy she seemed, "You think so?"

Penny gave him a look, "I'm a woman Leonard, I know when a girl is into a guy and she immediately got interested when she saw how good he was with her son. She also asked me about him when we talked after the show was done." She told him.

"Who would have thought they would bond over her son." Leonard softly commented.

"Sweetie, she is a single mom, and meets a guy who is nice to her son and seems really nice overall. She definitely wants to know more about him, since right now he seems perfect." She smiled at him.

Leonard nodded, "Well it is late and one of us has to work tomorrow."

Penny smiled more, grabbing his arm. "Come on sleepy head."

**xxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxxTIMExxxx**

The next day Leonard got home a little early, to shower and get ready for Penny's party. He was just putting his tie on when Penny came in the bedroom dressed in a cocktail dress, that made Leonard stop everything he was doing to stare at her, in awe. Penny stopped when she noticed him staring at her and they stood there for almost a whole minute in awkward silence.

Penny finally looked down at herself, "Is something wrong in the way I look."

Leonard shook his head, "No, you look stunning."

Penny blushed and gave him a shy smile, finally walking towards him. "Let me fix that tie for you."

Leonard stood perfectly still as the most beautiful woman in the world, tied his tie for him, not even trying not to touch him as she did it. Several times just staring at him while she worked on it, him noticing the obvious dilation in her eyes. He was actually surprised when she finished, and disappointed, her touching him and her smell two sensory feelings he didn't want to end.

Penny rested her hands on his chest for a second, her desire trying to take completely over her mind and destroy any willpower she still had. She knew, all he had to do was take her into his arms and she knew she would be his, her will to resist completely gone at the moment. Her eyes kept going from his eyes to his lips and it made Penny now realized if they just stood there that close for a little longer, he wasn't going to have to do a thing to have her, she would just kiss him and give herself to him.

"Penny let me get my jacket and we can go." Leonard knew he had to get them moving before he did something he would regret.

Penny had to actually think about what he said, because she was so captivated by him at the moment, his words seemed to come from a different far away place. She mind though slowly began to understand what he said, so she nodded and took her hands off his chest, "Okay."


End file.
